D  S 

75 

J72 

1898 

MAIN 


m 


THE 

EPISTOLARY  LITERATURE 


OF  THE 


ASSYRIANS  AND  BABYLONIANS 

A 

DISSERTATION 

PRESENTED  TO  THE 

BOARD  OF  UNIVERSITY  STUDIES 

OF  THE 

JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSITY 

FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF 

DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 

1894 


BY 


Christopher  Johnston 


BALTIMORE,  MD. 


THE 


EPISTOLARY  LITERATURE 

OF  THE 

ASSYRIANS  AND  BABYLONIANS 

A 

DISSERTATION 

PRESENTED  TO  THE 

BOARD  OF  UNIVERSITY  STUDIES 

OF  THE 

JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSITY 

FOR  THE  DEGREE  OF 

DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY 
1894 


BY 


Christopher  Johnston 


BALTIMORE,  MD. 

i8q8 


PREFACE.  MAlhl 

The  following  pages  are  reprinted  ^om  the  Journal  of  the 
American  Oriejital  Society,  vol.  xviii,  pp.  125-175,  and  vol.  xix, 
pp.  41-96.  For  convenience  of  reference  the  original  pagination 
has  been  retained.  As  stated  in  my  note  on  p.  129  of  Part  I, 
the  third  and  fourth  volumes  of  Professor  Robert  F.  Harper's 
Assyrian  and  Babylonian  Letters  appeared  while  the  first  part  of 
my  work  was  in  press,  and  it  was  therefore  impossible  to  make 
any  extensive  use  of  the  material  contained  therein.  For  this 
reason  the  publication  of  Part  II  was  delayed  in  order  that  I 
might  have  an  opportunity  to  study  the  new  volumes  of  Pro- 
fessor Harper's  admirable  work,  and  I  have  thus  been  able  to 
make  some  important  additions  to  my  glossary. 

The  arrangement  of  the  glossary  is  in  accordance  with  the 
plan  laid  down  by  Professor  Haupt  for  the  preparation  of  the 
proposed  Johns  Hopkins  Assyrian-English  Glossary,  and  an- 
nounced at  the  meeting  of  the  American  Oriental  Society  held  at 
Baltimore,  in  October,  1887  {Journ,  Amer.  Or.  Soc,  vol.  xiij,  pp. 
ccxliv-ccxlix ;  cf.  Am.  Journ.  of  Fhilol,  vol.  xvii,  p.  487). 

I  take  this  opportunity  of  expressing  to  Professor  Haupt  my 
sincere  thanks  for  many  valuable  suggestions,  for  his  friendly 
advice  and  encouragement  given  upon  very  many  occasions,  and 
for  his  kind  assistance,  involving  no  small  amount  of  labor,  in 
seeing  these  pages  through  the  press. 

Christopher  Johnston, 

Camp  Wilmer,  First  Lieutenant,  Fifth  Regiment, 

May,  1898.  J-  ^'  N-  ^• 


!  J01*^:^ 


The  Epistolary  Literature  of  the  Assyrians  and  Babylonians. 
—By  Dr.  Christopher  Johnston,  Johns  Hopkins  Univer- 
sity, Baltimore,  Md. 

While  the  historical,  grammatical,  and  poetical  texts  be- 
•qiieathed  to  us  by  the  ancient  peoples  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria 
received  from  the  first  the  careful  attention  of  Oriental  scholars, 
the  numerous  tablets  containing  letters  and  dispatches  have  until 
recent  years  attracted  only  a  moderate  degree  of  interest.  This 
was  but  natural.  The  mass  of  the  Assyro-Babylonian  literature 
which  has  come  down  to  us  is  of  immense  extent,  and  the  num- 
ber of  Assyriologists  has  never  been  large,  so  that  a  considerable 
degree  of  selection  was  demanded  by  the  nature  of  the  subject. 
Close  study  of  the  grammatical  and  lexicographical  texts  was 
absolutely  necessary  in  order  to  obtain  a  competent  knowledge 
of  the  newly  discovered  language.  The  vivid  light  thrown  by 
the  historical  documents  upon  a  long  lost  period  of  the  world's 
history  amply  explains  the  zealous  study  bestowed  upon  them, 
while  their  comparatively  simple  style  and  construction  rendered 
them  a  most  fitting  subject  for  workers  in  a  new  field.  The  many 
beautiful  hymns  and  psalms  discovered  in  the  library  of  that  great 
pati'on  of  letters,  King  Sardanapallus,  and  in  the  ruins  of  the 
Babylonian  temples  ;  the  great  national  epic  celebrating  the 
exploits  of  the  hero  Gilgames ;  the  magical  and  liturgical  texts  ; 
the  intensely  interesting  cosmogonic  legends,  with  the  invalua- 
ble information  all  these  supplied  concerning  the  religion  and 
religious  myths  of  Western  Asia,  could  not  fail  to  excite  deep 
interest  in  the  minds  of  all  scholars,  especially  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that,  at  the  outset,  the  study  of  Assyrian  was  pursued,  not 
so  much  for  itself,  as  on  account  of  the  light  it  was  expected  to 
shed  upon  the  Old  Testament  narrative.  Under  these  circum- 
stances it  was  hardly  to  be  expected  that  very  great  attention 
should  be  paid  to  a  class  of  tablets,  valuable  indeed,  but  of  minor 
importance  compared  with  the  texts  previously  mentioned,  and 
moreover  extremely  difficult  to  interpret. 

The  first  scholar  to  make  use  of  the  dispatch  tablets  was  George 
Smith,  who  in  the  year  1871  published  extracts  from  some  ten  of 
them,  with  transliteration  and  translation,  in  \\i%  History  of  Amr- 
banipal  Smith,  while  he  often  grasped  the  general  sense  of  the 
text,  was  apt  to  be  incorrect  in  matters  of  detail,  and  his  transla- 
tions are  therefore  faulty  ;  but  it  must  be  borne  m  mmd  that  lie 
wrote  over  twenty  years  ago,  when  the  field  of  Assyrian  epistolary 
literature  was  as  yet  wholly  unexplored.  That  he  recognized  the 
value  of  these  texts  is  shown  by  his  citations  from  them ;  but, 


126  Christopher  Johnston,  [1897. 

having  at  his  command  abundance  of  material  which  readily 
yielded  far  more  striking  results,  he  bestowed  but  scant  study 
upon  them.  Thus,  in  the  section  of  his  book  devoted  to  the  Ela- 
mite  wars,  he  cites  and  translates  lines  1-13  of  the  very  important 
text  K  13,  but  goes  no  further,  although  the  remaining  fifty-two 
lines  would  have  yielded  him  most  valuable  information  in  regard 
to  the  subject  he  had  in  hand.  During  the  remaining  five  j^ears 
of  his  life.  Smith's  work  was  principally  devoted  to  the  explora- 
tion of  the  buried  cities- of  Western  Asia  and  to  the  publication 
of  the  results  attained  by  him  in  this  field ;  and,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  two  texts  translated  in  his  Assyrian  Discoveries,  this 
branch  of  cuneiform  literature  received  no  further  attention  from 
him. 

If  I  am  correctly  informed,  the  German  Government  had  re- 
quested the  British  Museum  to  furnish  some  translations  of 
Assyrian  letters  for  the  Reichspost  Museum  of  Berlin.  The  task 
was  assigned  to  Mr.  Theo.  G.  Pinches,  who  was  thus  obliged  to 
devote  some  attention  to  these  texts.  On  the  4th  of  December, 
1877,  Mr.  Pinches  read  before  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology 
a  paper  entitled  "  Notes  upon  the  Assyrian  Report  Tablets,  with 
Translation."  In  this  paper,  which  was  published  in  the  Trans- 
actions of  the  Society  for  the  following  year  (vol.  vi.  pp.  209-243), 
the  author,  after  a  general  introduction,  gave  a  summary  of  the 
contents  of  four  letters  selected  by  him,  followed  by  the  cunei- 
form text  with  interlinear  transliteration  and  translation,  accom- 
panied by  brief  philological  notes.  This  was  the  first  attempt  to 
subject  the  letters  to  systematic  study  on  the  same  lines  as  the 
other  branches  of  Assyrian  literature,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that 
this  pioneer  work  was  not,  in  every  respect,  successful.  It  gives 
an  idea  of  the  difiiculties  surrounding  the  subject,  that  even  so 
experienced  a  cuneiformist  as  Mr.  Pinches  often  failed  to  grasp 
the  meaning  of  the  texts  he  had,  selected  for  study.  But  the 
methods  of  the  day  were  in  a  high  degree  empirical.  Assyrian 
was  studied  through  the  medium  of  Hebrew,  Arabic,  and  Ara- 
mean ;  and  a  more  or  less  happy  conjecture  did  the  rest.  The 
present  method  of  study,  by  the  comparison  of  parallel  passages 
and  the  sifting  over  of  the  whole  cuneiform  literature  to  discover 
the  uses  of  each  separate  word,  had  hardly  come  into  existence  ; 
indeed,  it  is  to  be  regretted  that,  even  to-day,  a  few  scholars  still 
adhere  to  the  older  and  less  laborious  method.  However,  it  can- 
not be  expected  that  a  science,  which  had  its  birth  hardly  fifty 
years  ago,  should  in  this  brief  time  attain  perfection.  We  should 
rather  rejoice  that  so  much  has  been  accomplished  than  regret 
that  so  much  remains  to  be  done. 

Stimulated,  perhaps,  by  Mr.  Pinches'  example,  one  of  the  old 
pioneers  of  cuneiform  research,  the  English  discoverer  of  photo- 
graphy, Mr.  H.  Fox  Talbot,  next  essayed  to  translate  the  very 
difficult  text  K  31.  The  results  of  his  attempt  appeared  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology  for  1878, 
and  in  vol.  xi.  of  the  Records  of  the  Past,  published  in  the  same 


Vol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  127 

year,  under  the  title  "Defense  of  a  Magistrate  falsely  accused  " 
The  very  title  shows  how  completely  Mr.  Talbot  failed  to  under- 
stand the  text,  which  is  an  appeal  for  redress,  made  by  a  person 
who  claims  to  have  been  deprived  of  his  property  and  otherwise 
injured  by  personal  enemies,  taking  advantage  of  certain  political 
conditions. 

Since  the  year  1878,  Mr.  Pinches  has  published  translations  of 
a  few  letters,  principally  in  Records  of  the  Past ;  but  they  must 
all  be  considered  as  unsuccessful  attempts  based  on  the  old  con- 
jectural method  of  work.  In  justice  to  Mr.  Pinches,  however,  it 
should  be  stated  that,  while  not  wholly  successful  in  his  efforts  to 
explain  these  difficult  texts,  he  has  rendered  most  valuable  services 
to  Assyriologists  in  making  the  texts  accessible.  His  great  skill 
and  accuracy  in  copying  and  editing  cuneiform  texts  has  been 
exhibited  on  many  occasions,  and  he  has  made  all  students  of 
Assyriology  his  debtors  by  his  most  excellent  work  in  the  prepa- 
ration and  revision  of  the  second  edition  of  the  fourth  volume  of 
the  Cu7ieiform  hiscriptions  of  Western  Asia. 

The  sketch  of  Assy ro-Baby Ionian  Literature  in  Kaulen's  Assyr- 
ien  und  Babylonien  (4th  ed.,  1891,  pp.  189  ff.)  contains  (second 
hand)  translations  of  a  few  letters  ;  and  both  Hommel  ( Geschichte 
Bahyloniens  und  Assyrie?is,  1885-86)  and  Tiele  (Babylonisch- 
Assyrische  Geschichte,  1886)  made  free  use  in  their  respective 
works  of  such  letter-texts  as  were  of  historical  importance. 

Father  J.  N.  Strassmaier,  whose  merits  as  a  copyist  are  well 
known,  published  copious  extracts  from  the  letters  in  his  Alpha- 
hetisches  Verzeichfiiss,  which  appeared  in  1886,  but  made  no 
attempt  at  translation.  In  fact,  until  the  year  1887,  very  little 
had  been  done  toward  the  special  study  of  this  very  interesting 
branch  of  Assyrian  literature,  and  only  a  small  number  of  com- 
plete texts  had  been  published.'  In  1887-89,  however,  an  Ameri- 
can, Mr.  Samuel  Alden  Smith,  published,  in  the  Proceedings  of 
the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology,  and  in  the  second  and  third 
parts  of  his  Keilschrifttexte  Asurbanipals,  sixty-nine  texts  copied 
from  the  best  preserved  letter-tablets  in  the  British  Museum,  with 
transliteration,  translation,  and  philological  notes  ;  Mr.  Pinches, 
who  assisted  materially  in  editing  the  texts,  and  other  cuneiform- 
ists,  appended  additional  notes.  Mr.  Smith  unfortunately  lacked 
the  necessary  philological  knowledge,  and,  while  he  added  greatly 


1  Dr.  C.  F.  Lehmann's  paper,  "Zwei  Erlasse  Kpmg  Asurbanabais 
(ZA.  ii.  1887,  pp.  58-68),  in  which  the  texts  K  9o  and  67,  4-2,  1  are  trans- 
lated, can  hardly  be  considered  as  an  improvement  uponthe  work  of 
his  predecessors  in  the  field.     Dr.  Lehmann^ subsequently,  m  connection 
with  the  letters  published  by  him  in  his  Sama§smukukin  (1892)  called 
attention  (pp.  73-73)  to  the  necessity  for  groupmg  a     letters  lender 
names  of  their  respective  writers,  and  pomted  out  ^?^ ^^^,^l['}^^  *«^*'  ^ 
end  offered  by  Bezold's  Catalogue  of  the  fouyunjikColk^^^^ 
plan  has  been  adopted  by  Dr.  R.  F.  Harper  m  his^ssj/rmn  ^^^Ba^lo^ 
nian  Letters  of  the  K  Collection,  the  first  volume  of  which  appeared  in 
that  year. 


128  Christopher  Johnston,  [1897. 

to  the  available  material  for  study,  he  did  very  little  to  elucidate 
the  subject.  His  translations  not  only  fail  to  reproduce  the  origi- 
nal, but  are  frequently  so  obscure  as  to  be  actually  unintelligible, 
owing,  perhaps,  to  his  imperfect  command  of  German. 

Prof.  Friedrich  Delitzsch,  the  founder  of  the  Leipzig  school 
of  Assyriology,  who,  as  is  evident  from  the  numerous  citations 
of  these  texts  in  his  Assyrian  Grammar  and  his  Assyrian  Diction- 
ary, had  already  given  much  attention  to  the  subject,  next  pub- 
lished, in  the  Beitrdge  zur  Assyriologie  (1889-91),  a  series  of 
three  papers  on  Assyrian  letters,  in  which,  unlike  Smith,  he  gives 
the  text  in  transliteration  only.  His  commentary,  however,  is 
fuller,  and  he  endeavors  to  ascertain  something  about  the  per- 
sonality of  the  writer  wherever  possible.  Prof.  Delitzsch  treated 
forty  texts,  thirty-one  of  which  had  been  already  translated  by 
Smith,  but  in  all  these  cases  the  necessity  for  a  re-translation  is 
obvious.  Prof.  Delitzsch,  approaching  the  subject  in  a  scientific 
manner,  and  possessing  the  advantages  of  a  large  experience  and 
extensive  lexicographical  collections,  has  solved  the  problem,  and 
laid  down  the  lines  upon  which  the  study  of  the  Assyrian  episto- 
lary literature  must  be  carried  on  in  the  future.  As  in  other 
branches  of  cuneiform  research,  he  applies  here  the  principles  of 
common  sense,  even  a  moderate  exercise  of  which  might  have 
saved  S.  A.  Smith  from  many  errors. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  difficulty  in  the  way  of  a  successful  study 
of  the  Assyrian  letters  was  the  absence  of  sufficient  available 
material  upon  which  to  work.  While  few,  or  comparatively  few, 
texts  were  published,  and  while  the  great  mass  of  those  in  the 
British  Museum  were  not  even  catalogued  according  to  their  con- 
tents, the  task  was  almost  a  hopeless  one  ;  but  the  difficulty  has  at 
last  been  removed.  The  catalogue  of  the  Kouyunjik  Collection 
prepared  by  Dr.  Carl  Bezold  (who  may  be  called  the  Chief  Regis- 
trar of  Assyriology),  of  which  the  first  volume  appeared  in  1889, 
has  rendered  it  possible  to  select  these  texts  from  the  many  thou- 
sands composing  the  collection ;  and  an  American  scholar.  Dr. 
Robert  Francis  Harper,  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  a  former 
pupil  of  Delitzsch  and  Schrader,  has  been  prompt  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  fact.  Aided  by  Bezold's  catalogue.  Dr.  Harper  lias 
within  the  last  few  years  copied  a  large  number  of  these  texts  ; 
and  a  portion  of  the  results  of  his  labors  has  been  given  to  the 
world  in  the  two  volumes  of  his  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  Let- 
ters of  the  K  Collection.  These  two  volumes,  which  appeared  in 
1892  and  1894  respectively,  contain  altogether  two  hundred  and 
twenty-three  carefully  edited  and  excellently  published  letters. 
Many  of  these  texts,  it  is  true,  had  already  been  published  ;  but 
their  republication  is  necessary,  owing  to  the  plan  of  the  author, 
which  is  to  make  his  work  a  complete  "  Corpus  Epistolarum  "  of 
the  K  Collection.  As  in  the  case  of  S.  A.  Smith,  Mr.  Pinches  has 
again  placed  his  great  skill  and  experience  at  the  disposal  of  the 
author,  and  has  rendered  valuable  service  in  collating  a  large 
number  of  the  texts  and  aiding  in  editing  them. 


Vol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  129 

For  obvious  reasons  Dr.  Harper  has  grouped  together  all  the 
letters  of  each  writer,  and  it  is  his  purpose  to  publish  first  those 
texts  which  preserve  the  name  of  the  scribe,  and  later  those  from 
which  the  name  is  missing.  Nor  does  he  propose  to  confine 
himself  to  the  ^collection,  as  the  title  of  his  book  would  indi- 
cate, but  intends  to  publish,  in  the  Zeltschrift  filr  Assyt-iologie 
and  in  Hebraica,  letters  from  the  other  collections  of  the  British 
Museum,  and  subsequently  to  incorporate  them  in  a  later  volume 
of  his  work.  Fourteen  letters  of  the  R™2.  Collection  have  already 
appeared  in  volume  eight  of  the  Zeitsohrift  fur  Assyriologie.^ 
When  the  texts  have  been  published,  Dr.  Harper  proposes  to  add 
transliterations,  translations,  and  a  glossary.  (See  the  prefaces 
to  Parts  I.  and  II.  of  Dr.  Harper's  work.)  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
this  work,  so  excellently  begun,  may  be  carried  on  to  successful 
completion.^ 

In  speaking  of  the  epistolary  literature  of  the  Assyrians  refer- 
ence has  been  had  to  the  letters  of  the  later  period,  that  of  the 
Sargonides ;  and,  as  for  a  long  time  no  others  were  known  to 
exist,  the  term  has  become  in  a  manner  fixed,  and  for  the  sake  of 
convenience  is  retained  here.  Its  application  is  now,  however, 
no  longer  strictly  accurate.  In  the  winter  of  1887-88  some 
natives  found  at  Tel  el-Amarna  in  Upper  Egypt  between  three 
and  four  hundred  cuneiform  tablets,  which  proved  to  consist  of 
letters  and  dispatches  addressed  to  the  Egyptian  Court  in  the 
15th  century  b.  c.  Of  these  tablets  eighty-two  were  secured  for 
the  British  Museum,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty  for  that  of 
Berlin  ;  the  Btilaq  Museum  has  sixty,  and  the  rest  are  in  the 
hands  of  private  individuals.  Excellent  editions  of  these  texts 
have  been  published  by  the  authorities  of  the  Berlin  and  British 
Museums,  and  Dr.  Carl  Bezold  has,  under  the  somewhat  mislead- 
ing title  of  Oriental  Diplomacy^  published  in  transliteration  the 
eighty-two  texts  of  the  latter  Museum,  with  summaries  of  their 
contents,  grammatical  analysis,  and  a  glossary.  While  this 
article  is  going  through  the  press,  the  fifth  volume  of  Schrader's 
Keilinschriftliche  Bibliothek  has  been  issued.  It  contains  a 
transliteration  and  translation  of  the  Amarna  texts,  with  gloss- 
ary, indexes,  etc.,  by  Dr.  Hugo  Winckler,  of  the  University  of 
Berlin.     This  volume  has  also  been  published  in  English. 

Of  the  literature  of  the  subject,  which  has  already  assumed 
formidable  proportions,  a  very  complete  bibliography  is  to  be 
found  in  the  edition  of  the  British  Museum  texts  published  in 
1892.  A  brief  sketch  of  the  characteristics  of  these  interesting 
documents  is  given  below  (pp.  132  ff.). 


^  These  texts  have  since  been  republished,  along  with  numerous  other 
new  texts,  in  the  fourth  volume  of  Harper's  work. 

2  Parts  III.  and  IV.  have  just  appeared,  after  the  present  article  was 
in  type.  It  has  therefore  been  impossible  to  make  any  extensive  use  of 
the  new  material  contained  therein. 

VOL.   XVIII.  9 


130  Christopher  Johnston^  [1897. 

Under  the  title  Assyrian  letters  is  included  a  large  number  of 
documents  differing  greatlj^  in  contents  and  scope.  Among  them 
are  the  letters  of  private  individuals  ;  letters  of  kings  to  members 
of  their  families,  and  to  various  high  officers  of  the  empire  ; 
reports  of  governors  of  provinces,  and  of  military  and  civil 
officers  ;  proclamations  ;  petitions  ;  reports  of  priests  on  omens, 
terrestrial  and  celestial  ;  astronomical  reports  ;  reports  of  phy- 
sicians concerning  patients  under  their  care  ; — in  short,  while 
letters  of  an  official  character  largely  predominate,  nearly  every 
species  of  epistolary  composition  is  represented  among  these 
interesting  texts.  A  systematic  classification  of  them  is  for  the 
present  out  of  the  question,  since  Dr.  Harper's  book  has  only  reached 
the  second  volume,  while  the  information  supplied  by  Bezold's 
catalogue  is  of  the  vaguest  possible  character  and  often  mislead- 
ing. To  this  is  added  the  further  difficulty,  that  many  of  those 
already  published  are  as  yet  very  obscure.  In  fact,  no  proper 
classification  can  be  carried  out  until  a  much  larger  number  of 
the  letters  has  been  published,  and  a  complete  concordance  pre- 
pared of  the  names  of  persons  and  places  occurring  in  them. 
The  excellent  plan  adopted  by  Dr.  Harper,  of  grouping  the  let- 
ters under  the  names  of  the  writers,  will  do  much  to  facilitate 
this  work.  When  we  consider  the  unbounded  enthusiasm  with 
which  every  fragment  of  an  ancient  Greek  or  Roman  inscription 
is  received,  and  remember  that  in  these  letters  we  possess  hun- 
dreds of  original  contemporary  documents  whose  authenticity  is 
beyond  all  question,  their  value  to  all  students  of  Assyro-Baby- 
lonian  life  and  history  is  not  easily  over-estimated. 

Thus,  to  select  a  few  examples,  the  proclamation  of  Sardana- 
pallus,  published  in  IV  R^  45,  no.  1,  is  an  urgent  appeal  to  the 
Babylonians  to  hold  aloof  from  the  threatened  revolt  of  his 
brother  Samas-sum-ukin, — a  revolt  w^hich,  when  it  took  place, 
shook  the  Assyrian  empire  to  its  foundation  .and  led  the  way  to 
its  ultimate  downfall.'  The  text  K  13  (IV  R'  45,  no.  2)  furnishes 
valuable  details  in  regard  to  the  events  which  resulted  in  the 
invasion  of  Elam  and  the  sacking  of  Susa,  described  in  that  por- 
tion of  the  annals  of  Sardanapallus  recording  the  eighth  cam- 
paign of  that  monarch  ;  while  the  dispatch  K  10  (Pinches'  Texts, 
p.  6),  proceeding  from  the  same  writer,  affords  an  insight  into 
the  distracted  state  of  the  unhappy  land  of  Elam,  which,  weak- 
ened by  internal  factional  contests,  fell  an  easy  prey  to  the 
Assyrian  arms. 

The  letters  of  the  old  courtier  Ramman-sum-u9ur  afford  a 
glimpse  into  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Assyrian  court  in 
the  days  of  the  Sargonides,  and  two  of  them  especially,  K  183'' 
and  K  595  (Harper,  no.  6),  are  models  of  courtly  style.  In  the 
former  he  complains  that,  owing  to  the  machinations  of  powerful 

1  See  JAOS.  xv.  pp.  311-316 ;  Johns  Hopkins  Univ.  Circ,  No.  106,  p. 
108  (June,  1893). 

2  Cf.  Beitr.  zur  Assyr.,  i.  p.  617  if. 


Vol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  131 

enemies,  hia  son  had  failed  to  obtain  a  position  at  court,  to  which, 
it  would  seem,  his  birth  entitled  him,  and,  with  the  utmost  tact, 
appeals  to  the  king  to  remedy  the  injustice  done  him  ;  the  latter 
letter,  apparently  in  reply  to  a  familiar  and  kindly  communica- 
tion from  the  king,  contains  two  distinct  plays  upon  words,  by 
ringing  the  changes  upon  which  the  writer  conveys  a  series  of 
eompliments  to  his  royal  master. 

In  the  text  K  629  (Harper,  no.  65),  the  priest  Nabli-sum-iddina 
outlines  the  program  of  a  religious  ceremony,  accompanied  by  a 
procession,  to  be  held  in  honor  of  the  god  Nabli  at  Calah,  in 
which  he  proposes  to  take  part,  and  concludes  with  a  prayer  for 
the  welfare  of  "the  prince,  my  lord,"  to  whom  the  letter  is 
addressed.  Letters  from  priests,  indeed,  are  very  numerous,  and 
usually  contain  answers  to  requests  for  information  concerning 
omens,  lucky  or  unlucky  days,  charms,  and  similar  matters.  It  is 
clear,  not  only  from  the  letters  but  also  from  the  other  branches 
of  Assyrian  literature,  that  it  was  the  custom  of  the  king  to  con- 
sult the  will  of  the  gods  in  all  his  undertakings,  and  the  picture 
in  the  Book  of  Daniel  of  King  Nebuchadnezzar  calling  in  the  aid 
of  his  magicians  and  soothsayers  is  by  no  means  overdrawn. 

Quite  a  number  of  the  letters  proceed  from  physicians.  In  one 
(S  1064),  we  find  the  physician  Arad-Nana  applying  a  bandage 
in  a  case  of  ophthalmia  or  of  facial  erysipelas  ;  in  K  6 1 9  he 
recommends  plugging  the  anterior  nares  in  a  case  of  epistaxis  ;  ^ 
and  in  K  b1^  he  advises  the  king  to  anoint  himself,  to  drink  only 
pure  water,  and  to  wash  his  hands  frequently  in  a  bowl.  From 
the  letter  K  81  we  learn  that  when  the  Assyrian  general  Kudurru 
lay  ill  at  Erech,  the  king  sent  him  his  own  physician  Iqtsa-aplu, 
by  whose  efforts  he  was  so  fortunate  as  to  be  restored  to  health.^ 

In  spite  of  the  very  complete  system  of  laws  evidenced  by  the 
contract  tablets,  we  find  petitions  complaining  of  the  subversion 
of  justice  to  private  ends;  but  too  much  stress  should  not  be  laid 
upon  this.  All  such  petitions  are  ex  parte  statements,  and  few 
men  who  lose  a  case  at  law,  even  at  the  present  day,  acquiesce 
entirely  in  the  justice  of  the  decision. 

So  many  sculptures  have  been  found  representing  Assyrian 
kings  riding  in  chariots  drawn  by  spirited  steeds  that  it  is  inter- 
esting to  find  a  number  of  dispatches  reporting  the  arrival  of 
horses  for  the  use  of  the  king,  his  household,  or  his  ofticers;  and 
not  less  interesting  to  learn  that  the  most  highly  prized  breeds  of 
these  animals  were  the  Ethiopian  and  the  Median,  both  famous 
among  other  nations  of  antiquity  as  well.^ 

These  few  examples  will  give  some  idea  of  the  contents  of  the 
letters,  and  of  what  we  may  expect  to  learn  from  them  when  a 
sufficient   amount   of   material   has  been   made   available.     The 


1  See  below,  no.  14,  S  1064. 

2  See  Beitr.  zur  Assyr. ,  i.  p.  198  ff . 

2  See  Beitr.  zur  Assyr.,  i.  pp.  202-212  ;  ii.  pp.  44-55. 


132  Christopher  Johnston^  [1897. 

study,  however,  is  by  no  means  an  easy  one.  These  texts,  vary- 
ing in  length  from  six  or  seven  to  sixty  or  seventy  lines,  proceed 
from  a  great  variety  of  writers  of  different  stations  in  life,  and 
come  from  every  part  of  the  great  Assyrian  Empire.  In  the  case 
of  many  of  them  we  are  at  a  loss  to  understand  the  affairs  to 
w^hich  they  refer,  since  they  were  composed  under  circumstances 
of  which  we  have  no  knowledge.  Events  well  known  both  to  the 
writer  and  to  his  correspondent  are  frequently  alluded  to  in  such 
a  way  as  to  give  but  a  slight  hint,  or  none  at  all,  as  to  their  real 
significance.  And  this  is  to  be  expected,  for  a  letter  of  the  pres- 
ent day  might  well  be  totally  unintelligible  to  one  unacquainted 
with  the  writer  and  the  person  to  wliom  it  is  addressed. 

Dialectic  peculiarities  are  to  be  expected ;  but  here  great  cau- 
tion must  be  used,  since  no  safe  conclusions  can  be  formed  upon 
this  head  with  the  rather  scanty  materials  at  present  available. 
Above  all,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  these  letters  are  not  com- 
posed in  the  classical  language  of  the  historical  inscriptions  and 
the  poetical  texts,  but  in  the  colloquial  speech  of  Assyria  and 
Babylonia  at  the  time  of  the  Sargonides,  differing  from  the  clas- 
sical language  in  somewhat  the  same  way  as  Cicero's  letters  from 
his  orations.  Much,  of  course,  depends  upon  the  subject  matter 
and  the  personality  of  the  writer.  The  soldier,  the  priest,  the 
physician,  the  astrologer,  has  each  his  technical  terms  and  his 
peculiar  forms  of  expression.  But  even  in  the  most  elevated 
epistolary  style  the  language  differs  considerably  from  that  of 
the  historical  texts.  Words  and  forms  abound  which  are  only  to 
be  met  with  in  this  branch  of  cuneiform  literature,  and  the  long 
and  flowing  periods  of  the  classical  texts  are  here  replaced  by 
terser  forms  of  speech.  The  syntactical  construction  is  less  rigid, 
while  the  employment  of  shorter  sentences,  and  the  frequent  use 
of  the  particles,  especially  of  the  enclitic  m,  renders  the  style 
more  vivid  and  lively.  Individual  dift'erences  of  style  occur  as 
a  matter  of  course  ;  the  styles  of  the  courtier  Ramman-sum  U9ur 
and  of  the  soldier  Bel-ibni  distinctly  reflect  the  habits  and  pursuits 
of  the  writers. 

As  stated  above,  the  Tel  el-Amarna  letters  are  not  here  in- 
cluded under  the  head  of  Assyrian  letters,  a  term  until  quite 
recently  restricted  by  usage  to  the  letters  of  the  Sargonide  per- 
iod, but  are  treated  as  a  special  branch  of  cuneiform  literature. 
They  are,  however,  so  interesting  and  throw  so  much  light  upon 
a  very  obscure  historical  period  that,  although  not  coming  strictly 
within  the  scope  of  this  paper,  some  brief  account  of  them  would 
seem  to  be  called  for. 

Amenophis  III.,  of  the  18th  dynasty  (reigned  UlS-lSTY  b.  c), 
married,  as  has  long  been  known  from  the  Egyptian  monuments, 
a  Mesopotamian  princess  named  Tii  or  Thi,  by  whom  he  became 
the  father  of  his  successor  Amenophis  IV.  (reigned  1376-1364 
B.  c).  The  latter,  who  reigned  only  about  twelve  years,  seceded 
from  the  natio)ial  worship  of  Amen,  and  endeavored  to  substitute 
for  it  that  of  Aten,  or  the  solar  disk.     His  efforts  were,  however. 


Vol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  133 

frustrated  by  the  vigorous  opposition  of  the  priesthood,  and  he 
retired  to  a  place  on  the  Nile,  about  a  hundred  and  eiglity  miles 
above  Memphis,  where  he  built  an  entirely  new  temple,  palace, 
and  town.  It  was  in  the  ruins  of  this  palace,  near  the  modern 
village  of  Tel  el-Araarna,  that  these  invaluable  tablets  were  found 
in  1887-88.  Th<3y  consist  of  letters  and  dispatches  addressed  to 
Amenophis  III.,  and  to  his  son  and  successor  Amenophis  IV.,  by 
Asiatic  monarchs, — among  them  Burnaburias,  King  of  Babylon, 
and  Asur-uballit,  King  of  Assyria,  both  previously  known  from 
the  cuneiform  inscriptions, — and  by  Egyptian  prefects  and  gov- 
ernors of  a  large  number  of  towns  in  Syria  and  Phoenicia.  All 
these  are  written  in  a  variety  of  the  cuneiform  script  intermediate 
between  the  old  linear  and  the  later  cursive  form,  but  bearing  a 
closer  affinity  to  the  Assyrian  than  to  the  Babylonian  style  of 
writing.  The  language  employed  is,  except  in  case  of  two  letters, 
Assyrian,  but,  as  in  the  letters  of  a  later  period,  it  differs  considera- 
bly from  that  of  the  historical  inscriptions.  The  dispatches  from 
Syria  and  Phoenicia,  moreover,  exhibit  a  number  of  peculiarities 
due  to  the  influence  of  Canaanite  environment,  and  in  isome  cases 
genuine  Canaanite  words  are  added  as  explanatory  glosses  to 
Assyrian  phrases.^  One  of  the  letters  is  composed  in  the  lan- 
guage of  Mitani,  and  another  in  that  of  Ar§api,  of  which  no  speci- 
mens had  previously  been  discovered. 

The  letters  from  the  more  distant  Asiatic  princes  are  uniformly 
friendly  in  tone,  and  refer  to  treaties  with  Egypt,  to  mutual 
alliances  by  marriage,  to  commercial  relations,  and  to  the  inter- 
change of  gifts.  With  the  close,  apparently,  of  the  reign  of 
Amenophis  III.  begins  a  series  of  letters  and  dispatches  from 
Syria  and  Phoenicia  indicating  the  decadence  of  the  Egyptian 
power  in  those  countries.  Revolt  after  revolt  is  reported,  and 
the  aid  of  more  troops  is  constantly  demanded.  The  cities  are 
all  falling  away  from  the  king ;  the  friends  of  Egypt  are  \qw  and 
weak,  and  surrounded  by  powerful  enemies  ;  unless  promptly  sup- 
ported by  strong  reinforcements  they  can  no  longer  hold  out,  and 
the  whole  country  must  soon  be  lost  to  the  Egyptian  monarch. 

Most  of  these  tablets  are  to  be  referred  to  the  troubled  reign  of 
Amenophis  IV.,  who,  weakened  by  his  unsuccessful  contest  with 
the  priesthood  of  the  old  religion,  was  unable  to  keep  in  subjec- 
tion his  Syrian  vassals,  while  the  latter  were  prompt  to  take 
advantage  of  his  weakness  in  order  to  achieve  their  independence. 
It  is  a  most  interesting  fact  that  five  of  these  letters  are  from 
Jerusalem,  which  thus  appears  as  a  city  of  importance  even  in 
the  days  before  the  Exodus.  An  excellent  translation  of  the 
Jerusalem  letters  is  given  by  Dr.  H.  Zimmern  in  the  Zeitschrift 
JUr  Assyriologie^  vi.  pp.  245-263. 


^  See  Zimmern,  Zeitschrift  fur  Assyriologie,  vi.  p.  154;  and  of.  The 
Tel  el-Amarna  Tablets  in  the  British  Museum,  1892,  pp.  xiii,  xiv,  of  the 
Introduction,  from  which  the  facts  given  above  are  chiefly  derived. 


134  Christopher  Johnston,  [1897- 

The  Tel  el-Amarna  letters  have  attracted  so  much  attention^ 
and  so  much  has  been  written  about  them  (see  the  excellent  bib- 
liography appended  to  the  British  Museum  edition),  that  further 
discussion  is  unnecessary  in  a  paper  not  specially  devoted  to  the 
subject.  The  field,  however,  is  by  no  means  exhausted.  While 
the  general  contents  of  these  valuable  and  interesting  documents 
is  pretty  well  known,  only  a  comparatively  small  number  of  them 
has  as  yet  been  translated  in  a  satisfactory  manner,  and  the  recent 
discovery  of  a  cuneiform  tablet  of  the  same  period  at  Tel  el- 
Hesy,  the  site  of  the  ancient  Lachish,^  gives  fair  promise  that  at 
no  distant  day  the  treasure  may  receive  material  additions. 

In  the  following  section,  twenty  selected  letters  are  presented 
in  transliteration,  with  translations  and  explanatory  introductions. 
Seven  of  them,  viz.  Nos.  1,  2  (11.  1-13),  4,  5,  6,  14,  and  16,  have 
already  been  translated,  as  will  be  found  noted  in  each  case  ;  but 
they  are  here  newly  treated,  and  the  present  translations  are 
offered  as  substitutes  for  those  which  have  previously  appeared. 
The  rest  are  here  translated  for  the  first  time.  In  all  cases  the 
writer  has  endeavored  to  render  the  Assyrian  texts  into  intelligi- 
ble English,  without,  how^ever,  departing  from  the  sense  and  spirit 
of  the  original. 

The  accompanying  transliterations  are  an  attempt  to  embody  the 
views  of  the  writer  as  to  the  grammatical  reconstruction  of  the 
Assyrian  text  ;  such  explanations  as  may  seem  necessary  will  be 
given  in  the  philological  notes  in  Part  II.,  w4iich  will  also  contain 
syllabic  transliterations  and  literal  translations. 

Part  I.  has  been  prepared  with  special  reference  to  non-Assy- 
riologists,  and  therefore  all  matter  of  an  exclusively  technical 
nature  has  been  reserved  for  Part  11. 


PART  I. 

Selected  Letters,  Transliterated  and  Translated. 

1. 

K  5U. 

Among  the  numerous  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  letters  which 
have  been  preserved,  none  are  more  interesting  than  those  of  a 
certain  Bel-ibnl.  Rich  in  historical  allusions,  they  cast  a  most 
valuable  side-light  upon  the  actors  and  events  of  an  important 
period,  and  furnish  many  suggestive  details.  Seven  of  these 
letters  have  already  been  published,  and,  in  the  preface  to  the 
second  part  of  his  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  Letters  of  the  K 
Collection,  Prof.  R.  F.  Harper  promises  to  edit  the   whole  series 

^  See  Recueil  des  Travaux,  xv.  p.  137 ;  Quarterly  Statement  of  the 
Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  Jan.  1893,  pp.  25  ff. 


Vol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  135 

in  the  third  part  of  that  valuable  work/  Three  letters  from  King 
Sardanapallus  to  Bel-ibnt  have  also  been  published  with  transliter- 
ation, translation,  and  commentary,  and  his  name  is  mentioned  in 
a  number  of  other  letters  of  the  period. 

Bel-ibnt  was  a  man  of  high  rank,  a  general  in  the  armies  of 
Sardanapallus,  and  served  with  distinction  during  the  revolt  of 
Sumas-sum-ukin  and  in  the  campaigns  against  Elam  and  the 
war-like  Chaldeans  of  Southern  Babylonia.  As  to  his  birth  and 
family  relations,  we  have  little  information.  He  had,  however, 
a  brother,  Belsunu,  and  a  nephew,  his  sister's  son,  Musezib-Mar- 
duk.  The  nephew  held  a  high  military  command  under  Bel-ibn!  ; 
Belsunu,  seized  by  Nabti-bel-sumate  at  the  time  of  his  revolt, 
wa^  thrown  into  prison,  loaded  with  chains,  and  held  in  captivity 
for  a  considerable  period — an  injury  which  goes  far  to  account 
for  the  implacable  animosity  exhibited  by  Bel-ibni  towards  the 
Chaldean  prince.  Bel-ibni  himself,  according  to  a  proclamation 
of  the  King  to  the  people  of  the  Gulf  District,  held  the  rank  of 
manzaz  pcini,  a  dignity  reserved  for  the  most  exalted  nobility 
and  the  highest  officers  of  state,  the  possessors  of  which,  as  the 
name  implies,  enjoyed  the  right  of  access  to  the  royal  presence 
and  of  a  place  near  the  King's  person  on  all  occasions  of  cere- 
mony. 

All  the  letters  which  passed  between  the  King  and  Bel-ibni  are 
marked,  says  Prof,  Delitzsch  (B.  A.,  i.  p.  234),  by  the  most  cor- 
dial good  feeling.  Those  addressed  by  the  monarch  to  his  gen- 
eral may  be  called  almost  affectionate  in  tone,  and  in  one  instance, 
when  it  seemed  necessary  to  administer  a  reproof  for  an  apparent 
disregard  of  instructions,  the  sting  is  removed  by  a  prompt  for- 
giveness and  an  expression  of  the  utmost  confidence.  A  transla- 
tion of  this  letter  by  the  present  writer  will  be  found  in  Jour. 
Amer.  Orient.  Soc,  xv.  pp.  313,  314.  The  letters  of  Bel-ibni  to 
his  sovereign,  while  exhibiting  all  the  respect  due  to  the  royal 
station  and  preserving  all  the  forms  of  Oriental  etiquette,  are  yet 
characterized  by  a  certain  soldier-like  frankness  and  directness  of 
speech  ;  and  stamp  the  writer  as  a  man  earnest  and  capable  in 
the  discharge  of  his  duties,  self-reliant  and  thoroughly  practical 
in  all  emergencies,  and  conscious  that  he  both  enjoyed  and 
deserved  the  confidence  of  his  friend  and  master. 

In  the  year  652  b.  c.  (Tide,  Bahyl.  Assyr.  Geschichfe,  p.  377), 
Kudurru,  Governor  of  Erech,  reports  to  the  King  that  he  has 
received  a  message  from  Sin-tabnl-u9ur,  Governor  of  Ur,  stating 
that  he  has  been  summoned  by  Samas-sum-ukin,  King  of  Baby- 
lon and  brother  of  Sardanapallus,  to  join  in  his  revolt  against 
Assyria,  and  praying  earnestly  for  reinforcements,  which  he 
(Kudurru)  has  forthwith  despatched  (K  5457).  In  this  letter 
Bel-ibnt  is  mentioned,  but  it  is  impossible  to  make  out  the  con- 

^  The  third  volume,  just  issued,  contains  seven  letters  of  Bel-ibni, 
including  a  new  one  (K  597),  hitherto  unpublished.  Harper  has  failed  to 
see  that  K  1350  and  K  1374  (see  below,  p.  136)  belong  to  the  same  group. 


136  Christopher  Johnston,  [1897. 

text  owing  to  the  mutilation  of  the  tablet.  The  text  is  published 
in  Winckler's  Sammlung  vo7i  Keilschrifttexten^  ii.  p.  55. 

In  the  year  650  b.  c.  (Tiele,  op.  cit.,  p.  381),  Bel-ibni  was 
appointed  governor  of  the  Mat  l.dmtV\  the  district  lying  along 
the  Persian  Gulf  (K  812  ;  S.  A.  Smith,  Asurb.,  ii.  p.  49),  and  in 
the  same  year  writes  to  the  King  that  he  has  forwarded  to  the 
Assyrian  court  Tammaritu,  the  fugitive  King  of  Elam,  recently 
deposed  by  Indabigas,  together  with  his  family  and  adherents 
who  shared  his  flight  (K  599  ;  Smith,  Asurb.,  p.  196). 

In  the  letter  K  5062  (Winckler,  op.  clt.,  ii.  p.  69),  which  is 
unfortunately  so  mutilated  as  to  yield  no  connected  sense,  he 
mentions  Tammaritu  (obv.  11.  15,  17,  27,  30)  and  Nabti-bel-sumate 
(obv.  1.  31).  The  text  K  1250  (Winckler,  op.  cit.,  ii.  p.  59)  is 
badly  mutilated  at  the  beginning  and  end,  and  the  name  of  the 
writer  is  broken  away  ;  its  matter  and  style,  however,  together 
with  a  number  of  peculiar  forms  of  expression,  stamp  it  unmis- 
takably as  the  composition  of  Bel-ibni.  A  comparison  of  this 
text  with  K  13  leaves  no  doubt  upon  the  subject.^  "Before  the 
troops  of  the  lord  of  kings,  my  lord,"  he  writes,  '*  terror  has 
entered  (into  Elam)  like  a  ravaging  disease  "  (11.  8-10).     "  When 

the  troops  of  the  lord  of  kings,  my  lord,  enter  Dtir-ili they 

shall  seize  that  vile  wretch,  accursed  of  the  gods,  Kabli-bel-snmate, 
and  the  villains  who  are  with  him,  give  them  to  the  lord  of  kings, 
my  lord,  release  all  the  Assyrians  he  holds  captive,  and  send  him 
to  the  lord  of  kings,  my  lord.  When  that  vile  wretch,  accursed 
of  the  gods,  Nabli-bel-sumate,  revolted  some  four  years  ago,  he 
bound  with  fetters,  hand  (literally  'side')  and  foot,  Belsunu,  my 
eldest  brother,  a  servant  of  the  lord  of  kings,  my  lord,  (and)  cast 
him  into  prison"  (11.  11-25). 

A  Belsunu,  Governor  of  Khindana,  was  eponym  about  the 
year  648  b.  c.  (Tiele,  p.  389),  but  whether  he  was  the  brother  of 
Bel-ibni  is  uncertain.  If  the  revolt  of  Nabti-bel-sumate  be  cor- 
rectty  placed  in  651  b.  c.  (Tiele,  p.  381),  this  letter  must  have  been 
written  in  the  year  647. 

Like  the  preceding  text,  K  1374  (Winckler's  Sammlung  von 
Keilschrifttexten,  ii.  pp.  20,  21)  is  badly  mutilated,  and  the  name 
of  the  writer  is  broken  oif.  But  a  comparison  of  what  remains 
of  the  introduction  with  other  letters  of  Bel-ibni  clearly  shows 
that  this  text  proceeds  from  the  same  writer.  We  find  also  (obv. 
11.  1,  8  ;  rev.  11.  15,  18,  20,  21,  25)  the  king  referred  to  as  "lord 
of  kings,  my  lord,"  an  expression  peculiar  to  the  style  of  Bel-ibni. 
He  states  (obv.  11.  17,  18)  that  all  Elam  has  revolted  against 
King  Ummakhaldas  (Ummanaldas);^  mentions,  among  other 
persons,  Umkhuluma  (rev.  1.  3)  and  Nab d-bel-su mate  (rev.  1.  6); 

1  Compare,  e.  g.  K  1250,  8-10  with  K  13,  16-18  ;  K  1250,  11-16  with  K 
18,  41-43.  Note  also  the  epithet  sikipti  Bel  applied  to  Nabu-bel-sumate, 
K  1250,  14,  22-8;  K  13,  39,  and  the  use  of  the  expression  hel  sarrdni, 
heliia,  which  characterizes  all  the  letters  of  Bel-ibni. 

■^  This  may  refer  to  the  rebellion  of  Umbakhabu'a  mentioned  Asurb., 
V.  16-17. 


Vol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  13*7 

and  refers  to  the  messengers  of  Samas-sum-iikin,  the  rebellious 
brother  of  Sardanapallus  (rev.  1.  7).  Towards  the  close  of  the 
letter  (rev.  11.  \1  ff.)  he  complains  that  though  he  has  several 
times  applied  for  horses,  which  are  very  much  needed,  he  has 
been  unable  to  obtain  them. 

The  following  letter  from  Bel-ibnt  to  the  king  (K  524)  is  pub- 
lished, with  transliteration,  translation,  and  commentary,  in  S.  A. 
Smith's  Keilschrifttexte  Asurbanipals,  ii.  pp.  54-58,  to  which  are 
appended  additional  notes  and  corrections  by  Pinches  (pp.  78-78), 
and  by  Strassmaier  (pp.  87-88).  Those  points  in  which  the  trans- 
lation offered  below  differs  from  that  of  Smith  and  his  learned 
collaborators  will  be  noticed  in  the  philological  notes. 

The  account  given  of  the  dealings  of  Nadan  with  Nabli-bel- 
sumate,  and  the  recommendation  of  summary  punishment  in  case 
of  any  attempt  to  continue  the  intercourse,  would  seem  to  indi- 
cate that  the  revolt  of  the  Chaldean  prince  had  already  been 
effected;  while  the  flight  from  Elam  of  Suma,  the  nephew  of 
Tammaritu,  points  to  the  brief  reign  of  Indabigas.  It  is  probable 
that  Suma,  unable,  perhaps  on  account  of  the  illness  referred  to 
in  the  letter,  to  accompany  his  uncle  when  the  latter,  deposed  by 
Indabigas,  escaped  to  Babylonia,  made  his  way  to  the  border  as 
best  he  could,  and  was  received  by  Bel-ibni  as  related  in  the  let- 
ter, which,  if  this  conjecture  be  correct,  should  be  referred  to  the 
year  650  b.  c.     The  text  may  be  translated  as  follows  : 

TRANSLATION. 

To  the  lord  of  kings,  my  lord,  thy  servant  Bel-ibni !  May  Asur, 
§amas,  and  Marduk  decree  length  of  days,  health  of  mind  and  body,  for 
the  lord  of  kings,  my  lord  ! 

Suma,  the  son  of  Sum-iddina,  son  of  Grakhal — son  of  Tammaritu's 
sister — fleeing  from  Elam,  reached  the  (country  of  the)  Dakkha.  I 
took  him  under  my  protection  and  transferred  him  from  the  Dakkha 
(hither).  He  is  ill.  As  soon  as  he  completely  recovers  his  health,  I 
shall  send  him  to  the  king,  my  lord. 

A  messenger  has  come  to  him  (with  the  news)  that  Nadan  and  the 
Pukudeans  of  Til.  .  .  .^  had  a  meeting  with  Nabu-bel-sumate  at  the  city 
of  Targibati,  and  they  took  a  mutual  oath  to  this  effect :  "According  to 
agreement  we  shall  send  you  whatever  news  we  may  hear."  To  bind 
the  bargain(?)  they  purchased  from  him  fifty  head  of  cattle,  and  also 
said  to  him :  "  Our  sheep  shall  come  and  graze  in  the  pasture(?),  among 
the  Ubanateans,  in  order  that  you  may  have  confidence  in  us."  Now 
(I  should  advise  that)  a  messenger  of  my  lord  the  king  come,  and  give 
Nadan  plainly  to  understand  as  follows  :  If  thou  sendest  anything  to 
Elam  for  sale,  or  if  a  single  sheep  gets  over  to  the  Elamite  pasture  (?), 
I  will  not  let  thee  live."  The  king  my  lord  may  thoroughly  rely  upon 
my  report. 

^  Apparently  a  compound  name  like  Til-Khumba ;  cf.  Delitzsch, 
Paradies,  pp.  323,  325. 


138  Christopher  Johnston^  [1897, 

,    ACCENTED    TRANSLITERATION. 

^Ana  bel  sarrdni  beliia  ^arduJca  Bel-ibni  ! 

^Asur,  SamaSy  u  Marduh  ^ardku  ume  tHh  libhV'  u  Mb  stri  sa 
bel  sarrdni  '^beliia  liqbiX  ! 

Sumd  ''mdrusu  sa  Sam-iddina,  mar  Gaxal — ^mdr  axdtisu  sa 
Tammariti — ^ultu  mdt  Elamti  ki  ^"^ixliqu  adt  Daxxd  ^Httalka, 
Ultii  Daxxa*  ^'^qdtsu  ki  aghata,  ^^ultebirdsu. 

Marug.  ^*Adi  zimesu  maid  ^^igdbaiu,  anasarri  ^^beliia  asapa- 
rdsu.     " Apil  sipri  ibdsu  sa  Naddn  ^^u  Paqddu,  (Rev.)  ^°saina  dl 

Til[ ],  ^"ana  pdn  JVabd-bel-sumdte  "^'ana  dl  Targibdti  ittalkd. 

^^/Sumu  ill  ana  axdmes  ^hdteld,  umma :  "  ICi  adt  '^^Umii  mala 
nisemil,  '^^nisapardka.'^'*  U^  ana  "^^idatlXtu^  alpe  l  ku  "a;^a  kasp  i 
ina  qdtisuL  itabkilni.  "^^  IT  iqtabilni-su  umma :  "^^'^  Immereni  lilli' 
k-dm-ma,  ^^ina  libbi  .  °"*  Ubd'dnat  ^Hna  sddu  likuM,  ina  libbi 
^"^ana  m,iixxini  tardxug,^ 

^^Ennd  !  Apil  sipri  sa  sarri  beliia  ^^lillikd-ma,  ina  birit  ^Hni  sa 
Naddn  Mmandid  ^^umma  :  ^^  Ki  manma  ana  maxiri  ^'' ana  mdt 
Elamti  taltapra^  ^^u  isten  immeru  ^^ana  sddu  sa  mdt  Elamti 
*Hpterku,  (Edge)  ^'^ul  uballatka.''^ 

Dibbe  ka'dmdniltu  ^'^ana  sarri  beliia  altapra. 


2. 

K  IS. 

This  letter  is  published  in  Assyrian  transcription  in  the  first 
edition  of  The  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia,  vol.  iv 
(pi.  52,  no.  2),  and  in  the  original  cursive  Babylonian  character 
in  the  second  edition  of  that  work  (pi.  45,  no.  2).  Lines  1-13 
are  published  with  transliteration  and  translation  in  George 
Smith's  History  of  Assurbanipal,  pp.  197  ff. 

The  situation  would  seem  to  have  been  as  follows  :  Tammaritu,. 
king  of  Elam,  having  been  dethroned  in  the  j^ear  650  b.  c.  by 
Indabigas,  who  made  himself  king  in  his  stead,  made  his  escape 
to  the  coast  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  accompanied  by  his  family  and 
adherents,  among  whom  were  included  many  high  officers  of  state. 
Embarking  there,  he  reached  the  Babylonian  shore,  whence  tiie 
whole  party  was  forwarded  to  the  Assyrian  court  by  Bel-ibni,  who 
had  been  recently  appointed  governor  of  the  Gulf  District.  (See 
above,  p.  137.)  On  being  admitted  to  an  audience  with  the  Assy- 
rian monarch,  Tammaritu  humiliated  hiniself  before  him,  and 
besought  his  aid  in  recovering  liis  lost  kingdom.  (Tiele,  pp.  380, 
381.)  In  the  meantime  Nabtl-bel-sumate,  grandson  of  the  Ch.il- 
dean  king  of  Babylon,  Merodach-baladan,  had  thrown  off  the 
authority  of  Assyria  and  withdrawn  to  Elam,  taking  with  him  as 


Yol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  139 

captives  certain  Assyrians  who  had  been  detailed,  ostensibly  to 
aid  in  the  defense  of  his  dominions,  but  in  reality,  doubtless,  to 
protect  Assyrian  interests  there.  Sardanapallus  demanded  the 
release  of  the  prisoners  and  the  surrender  of  Nabti-bel-sumate, 
the  perpetrator  of  the  outrage,  threatening,  in  case  of  a  refusal 
to  comply  with  his  demand,  to  invade  Elam,  depose  Indabigas, 
and  place  Tammaritu  on  the  throne.  Before  this  message  reached 
its  destination,  however,  the  Elamite  monarch  had  been  deposed  by 
a  revolution,  and  Ummanaldas  made  king  in  his  stead  (Asurb., 
iv.  114,  115  ;  Cyl.  B.  vii.  71-87;  Cyl.  C.  vii.  88-115  ;  K.  B.,  ii. 
pp.  266  ff.).  The  latter  would  seem,  according  to  our  report  (11. 
23-31),  to  have  been  inclined  to  accept  the  terms  of  the  king  of 
Assyria,  but  to  have  lacked  the  power.  Elam  was  accordingly 
invaded,  and  Ummanaldas,  unable  to  make  eifective  resistance, 
abandoned  his  capital,  Madaktu,  and  took  refuge  in  the  moun- 
tains, leaving  the  way  clear  for  his  rival  Tammaritu,  who  was, 
with  little  or  no  resistance,  established  on  the  throne  as  a  vassal 
of  Assyria  (Asurb.,  iv.  110-v.  22).  But  the  new  king,  proving 
ungrateful  and  rebellious,  was  soon  deposed ;  Elam  was  again 
invaded ;  and  the  troops  of  Sardanapallus,  after  ravaging  the 
country,  returned  home  laden  with  spoil  (Asurb.,  v.  23-62). 
Ummanaldas  now  quietly  resumed  his  kingdom,  but  was  not 
long  allowed  to  remain  undisturbed.  Sardanapallus  again  made 
preparation  for  an  invasion,  and  Ummanaldas,  on  the  approach 
of  the  invading  forces,  once  more  left  Madaktu,  and  endeavored 
to  make  head  against  his  enemies  in  the  regions  beyond  the  river 
Id'id'e  (Asurb.,  v.  66-75).  It  is  to  this  juncture  of  affairs  that 
the  report  refers.     It  may  be  translated  as  follows  : 

Translation. 

To  the  lord  of  kings,  my  lord,  thy  servant  Bel-ibni  !  May  Asur, 
Samas,  and  Marduk  grant  health  of  mind  and  body,  long  life,  and  a 
lengthy  reign  to  the  lord  of  kings,  my  lord  ! 

The  news  from  Elam  is  as  follows  :  Ummakhaldas,  the  former  king, 
who  fled,  but  returned  again  and  seated  himself  upon  the  throne,  has 
become  alarmed  and  left  the  city  of  Madaktu.  His  mother,  his  wife, 
his  sons,  and  all  his  family  having  removed,  he  crossed  the  river  Ulaeus, 
and  went  southward  (?)  to  Talakh.  The  Ndgir  Ummansimas,  Undadu 
the  Zilliru,  and  all  his  partisans  have  gone  in  the  direction  of  Sukha- 
risungur,  now  saying  :  "  We  will  dwell  in  the  Khukhan  country,"  and 
now  again  "in  Kha'adalu.''^ 

All  these  parts  are  in  terror  ;  for  the  troops  of  the  lord  of  kings,  my 
lord,  have  brought  panic  into  Elam,  and  spread  abroad  calamity  like  a 
plague.  When  need  came  upon  their  land,  the  whole  country  fell 
away  from  their  side.     All  the  Dakkhadeans  and  the  Sallukkeans  are  in 

'  In  their  irresolution  they  were  unable  to  form  a  decided  and  consist- 
ent plan. 


140  Christopher  Johnston,  [1897. 

a  state  of  revolt,  saying  :  "Why  did  ye  slay  Umkhuluma  ?"  When 
Ummakhaldas  entered  Madaktu,  calling  together  all  his  partisans,  he 
upbraided  them  as  follows  :  "  Bid  I  not  say  to  you  before  I  fled  that  I 
wished  to  seize  Nabu-bel-sumate  and  give  him  up  to  the  king  of 
Assyria,  in  order  that  he  might  not  send  his  troops  against  us  ?  You 
heard  me,  and  can  bear  witness  to  my  words." 

Now,  if  it  please  the  lord  of  kings,  my  lord,  let  me  (privately)  convey 
the  royal  signet  to  Ummakhaldas,  with  reference  to  the  capture  of 
Nabu-bel-sumate.  I  shall  send  it  to  Ummakhaldas  as  a  guarantee  (?). 
If  my  lord  the  king  should  think.  They  are  ...  I  shall  send  my 
message  to  them  for  a  guarantee  (?),  (I  would  suggest  that)  when 
the  royal  messenger  reaches  them  accompanied  by  an  escort  of 
troops,  that  accursed  scoundrel  Nabu-bel-sumate  will  hear  of  it,  and, 
paying  a  ransom  to  the  nobles,  will  buy  himself  off.  If  the  gods  of  the 
lord  of  kings,  my  lord,  would  only  bestir  themselves,  they  would  catch 
him  with  his  bow  unstrung,  and  send  him  to  the  lord  of  kings,  my  lord' 

They  collect  all  the  tax  corn  (?)  in  Elam,  and,  putting  it  in  charge  of 
the  sarnuppu}  they  live  on  it.  As  long  as  Umkhuluma  was  alive, 
Nabu-bel-sumate,  on  receiving  his  share,  would  lavish  it  upon  his  par- 
tisans. This  tax  corn  (?),  in  charge  of  the  sarniippu,  they  levy  from 
Talakh  as  far  as  Rade,  and  throughout  the  country  of  Salluk.  Now, 
Nabu-bel-sumate,  and  Niskhur-bel,  his  major-domo,  whenever  they  catch 
a.  sarnnppu,  seize  him,  saying:  "Whenever  you  applied  to  Umkhu- 
luma for  our  provisions,  he  used  to  give  them  to  you.  You  have  slain 
the  people  of  our  house  with  famine.  You  shall  straightway  restore  to 
us  our  stolen  provisions,  at  the  rate  of  ten  bar  for  one  qa."  (?)  They 
withhold  it  from  Ummakhaldas,  and,  though  he  has  applied  (?)  for  it 
repeatedly,  he  cannot  get  it  from  them.  Whenever  I  hear  anything 
which  the  lord  of  kings,  my  lord,  would  wish  to  hear, 

The  few  remaining  lines  are  too  badly  inutilated  for  translation. 

ACCENTED    TRANSLITERATIOX. 

^[Ana  bel  sarrdm,  beU]ia,  arduka  Bel-ibni  ! 

\  Astir,  jSamas,  u  Marduk]  tUbi  libbi,  i{(Xbi  siri,  \ardku  l)>me\y 
labdr  pale  ana  bel  sarrdni,  ^beliia,  liqislX!    Temu  sa  mdt  Elamti: 

^  Ummaxalddsu,  sarru  maxriX  sa  ixliqa  HtiZrd-ma  ina  kussi 
ilsibuy  ''hi  iplaxu,  dl  MaddJcti  undeser.  ^  Ummiisu,  assatsu,  md- 
resu,  u  qinndsu  gabbi  ^ki  ikfuisUy  ndr  UWa,  ana  supdl  sdrii, 
^°etebir,  ana  dl  Talax  ittalka.  Ndgiru  "  TImmansimas,  Undadu 
zilliru,  ^^u  bel  tdbdtesu,  mala  ibdstl,  ^^ittalkd  pdnisunu  ana  dl 
Suxarisungur  ^^sakntl.  IqdbH  ummaki:  ^^  Ina  Xuxdn^''  ^^u  kt 
*'  Ina  dl  Xa^dddlu  nussab.'''' 

1  An  Elamite  official  title. 


Vol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  141 

^^Agd  gahbi  ina  puluxti^  sa  emilqu  sa  hel  ^''sarrdni  beliia 
mat  Elamti  Mma  deH  xurruru  ^^marusti  iparriX^  puluxti  ulte- 
ribiX  ;  'X  itti  sunqu  ina  mdtisunu  ittaskiri,  ^°mdtsunu  gahbi  ina 
kutallisunu  mussurat.  "^^DaxxadVlX^d,  Sallukki'd  gahhi  "^""sixOb 
suwCbtu^  umma :  ^^  Mindrma  Umxulumd^  ^^tadHkd?'' 

tfmu  sa  TJmmaxalddsu  ana  dl  Maddktu  "^^erubu,  hel  tdhdtesu 
gahhi  k%  upaxxir^  '^^dini  ittisunu  iddehuh,  ummai  '^^''^JJlagWa 
amdt  sa,  adi  Id  axdliqu,  ^'' aqhdkunHsu,  umma :  " N'ahil-hel-sumdte 
^Hughat-ma,  ana  sar  mdt  Assur  luddin,  ^^emiXqesu  ana  muxxini 
Id  isdparf — ^"^ Ta(^)tasmdHnni,  ina  muxxi  amdtia  ^Hattasizza' .'''* 
Ennd  !  kt  ^^pdn  hel  sarrdni,  heliia,  maxru,  unqu  sarri  ^^ana  muxxi 
Qahdta  NahU-hel-sumdte  ^^ana  pdn  TJmmaxalddsu  lusehilmii-yna. 
^^Andku  pasirdti  ana  Ummaxalddsu  ^Husehilsu.  Nindema  sarru 
heliia  iqdbi  umma:  ^'' '^ Sunu  tullummdhi :  sipirtd  pasirdti  *^ana 
pdnisunu  asdpar.^^  Ki  apil  sipri  sa  sarri  beliia,  ina  qdt  dikitu, 
*^ana  pdnisunu  ittalka,  sikipti  Bel  NabU-hel-sumdte  ^°isemi-ma, 
tapsuru  ana  rubesu  igdmar-ma,  ^Wdmdnsu  itter.  Nindema  ildni 
sa  hel  sarrdni,  beliia,  ^"^ippusU-ma,  ina  qasti  ramiti  i^ahatlX-ma, 
ana  ^^bel  sarrdni,  beliia,  isdparllni-su. 

Se*  sibsi  **sa  mdt  Elamti  gahbi  upaxxarU-ma,  ana  pardsu  *'°sa 
sarnuppu  inamdinil  ina  libbi  baltd.  *^  Ultu  TTmxuluma'  baltu, 
NablX-hel-sumdte,  ^''hdhsu  ki  i^batu,  ana  hel  tdhdtesu  iddur.  ^^Se^ 
agd  sa  sibsi,  pardsu  sa  sarnuppu,  '^^ultu  dl  Talax  adi  dl  Rade  u 
^° SallukkV d  gahbi  ittana^sU.  ^^Ennd  I  Sarnuppi  gahbi  ki  ilmUni, 
^"^ NabiX-hel-sumdte  u  Nisxur-Bel  rah  bitisu  ^^i^abtH,  umma :  ''Ana 
muxxi  kurummdtini  ana  "  Umxalumd^  kt  tuseHdd,  kurummd- 
tani  ^^iddanakun-dsu  ;  Nise  bitini  ina  hiXhdtd  ^^tadUkd.  Ennd  ! 
ana  i.  qa.  a.  an.  x.  bar.  a.  an.  ^''kuriXmdtani  sa  masd^  tamdxa- 
rdni-ma  ^^tanamdindndsu^''  Itti  Ummaxalddsu  ^^usazzHsu ;  ii- 
su  iii-su  ki  use'idus,  ^°i)ia  qdtisunu  ul  itersu. 

Ki  amdt  sa  ana  pibiltu   "hel  sarrdni,  beliia,  axtassu,  ul  Mr- 

biku-ma  ""^ ul  usasmU.     Kalhi  rdHmu  " 

mala  tallaka  ana  ekalli  " hel  sarrdni,  heliia  ana 

" Id  isdkan. 

The  fate  of  Nabli-bel-sumate  is  known  to  us  from  the  historical 
inscriptions.  Shortly  after  the  events  narrated  above,  Elam  was 
overrun  by  the  Assyrian  troops,  its  ancient  capital  Susa  was  cap- 
tured and  sacked,  and,  driven  at  length  to  despair,  the  gallant 
Chaldean  and  his  armor-bearer  slew  each  other  to  avoid  falling 
alive  into  the  hands  of  the  implacable  Assyrian  monarch. 
Ummanaldas,  who  had  taken  refuge  in  the  mountains,  sent  the 


142  Christopher  Johnston,  [1897. 

body  of  the  rebel  to  Sardanapallus,  who  satisfied  his  vengeance 
by  heaping  insults  upon  the  corpse  of  his  life-long  enemy  (Asurb.j 
vii.  16-50).  Thus  ended  the  line  of  Merodach-baladan,  which  for 
three  generations  had  offered  a  stubborn  resistance  to  the  might 
of  the  Assyrian  empire. 


KIO. 

Bel-ibni's  nephew  Mus^zib-Marduk  seems  to  have  been  regarded 
with  special  favor  by  King  Sardanapallus,  and,  though  nowhere 
qualified  as  manzaz  pdni,  had,  as  we  are  informed  in  a  letter 
from  the  king  to  his  general,  always  been  honored  with  ready 
admission  to  the  monarch's  presence  {JB.  A.,  i.  p.  236,  11.  7,  8). 
Kudurru,  the  loyal  governor  of  Erech,  thus  refers  to  him  in  a  let- 
ter to  the  king  :  "  Musezib-Marduk,  sister's  son  of  Bel-ibnt,  who 
has  several  times  presented  himself  before  my  lord  the  king  on 
errands  of  Bel-ibnl,  has  been  entrusted  with  (this  affair)  by  Bel- 
ibnt  The  officers  in  charge  of  the  gates  inform  him  that  these 
people  are  not  well  disposed  towards  my  lord's  house,  and  that  it 
will  not  be  well  to  let  them  come  over  here.  They  will  give 
information  to  Elam  in  regard  to  the  country  of  my  lord  the 
king  ;  and  in  case  a  famine  should  occur  in  Elam,  will  supply 
provisions  there  "  (K  1066,  Winckler's  Sammlung  von  Keilschrift- 
texten,  ii.  p.  38, 11.  20-30).  Unfortunately,  the  name  of  the  people 
about  whom  Musezib-Marduk  thus  reports  is  broken  away,  but 
they  must  have  been  a  tribe  living  on  Elamite  territory  near  the 
Assyrian  border. 

The  following  letter,  K  10,  is  published  in  Pinches'  Texts  in 
the  Babylonian  Wedge-  Writing,  p.  6,  and  contains  a  report  from 
Bel-ibnl  to  the  king  concerning  a  successful  raid  into  Elam  under 
command  of  Musezib-Marduk.^  Lines  15-25  of  the  reverse,  con- 
veying the  latest  news  received  from  Elam,  are  published  with 
transliteration  and  translation  in  George  Smith's  History  of 
Assurbanipal,  p.  248.  Smith  (p.  254)  was  inclined  to  identifj?- 
Ummanigas  son  of  Amedirra  with  Ummanigas  son  of  Umba- 
dara,  whose  statue  was  conveyed  to  Assyria  by  Sardanapallus  at 
the  time  of  the  sacking  of  Susa  {Asurb.,  vi.  52);  but  this  is 
hardly  possible.  The  royal  images  removed  from  Susa  would 
seem  rather  to  have  been  those  of  the  more  ancient  kings  of 
Elam,  and  it  is  much  more  likely  that  Ummanigas  son  of  Umba- 
dara  was  the  monarch  who,  according  to  the  Babylonian  Chroni- 
cle (i.  9),  ascended  the  throne  in  the  year  742  b.  c. 

Tide's  conjecture  [Babyl.-Assyr.  Geschichte,  p.  399,  n.  1)  is 
much  more  probable.  After  the  overthrow  of  Elam  and  the 
sacking  of  Susa,  Ummanaldas  continued  for  some  time  to  rule 


^  Cf.  Delitzsch,  Kossder,  p.  46. 


Vol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  143 

over  his  shattered  kingdom,  until  finally,  overthrown  by  a  revolu- 
tion, he  was  captured  by  the  successful  rebels,  sent  to  Assyi-ia, 
and  handed  over  to  Sardanapallus,  who  treated  him  in  a  most 
humiliating  manner.  Along  with  other  captive  princes,  he  was 
harnessed  to  a  car,  and  forced  to  draw  it  through  the  streets  of 
Nineveh  in  the  triumphal  procession  of  his  conqueror  {Asurb.,  x. 
6  ff.)'  This  revolution,  so  disastrous  for  the  unfortunate  Umma- 
naldas,  Tiele  is  inclined  to  identify  with  the  revolt  of  Ummani- 
gas  son  of  Amedirra,  mentioned  in  the  present  text.  It  is 
entirely  possible,  however,  that  some  other  rebellion,  not  men- 
tioned in  the  historical  inscriptions,  is  here  recorded.  The  text 
may  be  translated  as  follows  : 

TRANSLATION. 

To  the  lord  of  kings,  my  lord,  thy  servant  Bel-ibni ! 

May  Asur,  Samas,  and  Marduk  bestow  health  of  mind,  health  of  body, 
length  of  days,  long  years  of  reign,  upon  the  lord  of  kings,  the  king  of 
the  world,  my  lord  ! 

When  I  left  the  Grulf  District,  I  sent  five  hundred  soldiers,  servants 
of  my  lord  the  king,  to  the  city  of  Sabdanu,  with  these  orders  :  "  Estab- 
lish a  post  (?)  in  Sabdanu,  and  make  raids  into  Elam ;  slay  and  take 
prisoners  !"  When  they  reached  the  city  of  Irgidu,  a  city  lying  two 
leagues  this  side  of  Susa,  they  slew  Ammaladin,i  Prince  of  lasi'an,^ 
his  two  brothers,  three  of  his  uncles,  two  of  his  nephews,  Dalan  son  of 
Adiadi'a,  and  two  hundred  free-born  citizens— they  had  a  long  journey 
before  them — and  made  one  hundred  and  fifty  prisoners.  The  authori- 
ties of  Lakhiru  and  the  people  of  Nugu',  when  they  saw  that  my 
troops  had  got  to  their  rear,  becoming  alarmed,  sent  a  message,  and 
entered  into  terms  with  Musezib-Marduk,  my  sister's  son,  a  servant  of 
my  lord  the  king,  whom  I  had  placed  in  command  of  the  post  (?),  say- 
ing :  "We  will  become  subjects  of  the  king  of  Assyria."  So,  assem- 
bling all  their  force,  they  marched  with  Musezib-Marduk  into  Elam 

^     They  bring  (?)  the  following  report  from  Elam.     Ummani- 

gas  son  of  Amedirra  has  revolted  against  Ummakhaldas.  From  the 
river  Khudkhud  as  far  as  the  city  of  Kha'adanu  the  people  have  sided 
with  him.  Ummakhaldas  has  assembled  his  forces,  and  now  they  are 
encamped  opposite  each  other  on  the  banks  of  the  river.  Iqisa-aplu, 
whom  I  have  sent  to  the  palace,  is  well  informed  about  them.  Let  him 
be  questioned  at  the  palace. 


^  This  name  recalls  Ammuladi(n),  sheikh  of  the  Kedarenes,  who  was 
conquered  by  Sardanapallus  in  his  campaign  against  Arabia  {Asurb. , 
viii.  15). 

^  For  the  name  of  this  district,  cf .  Delitzsch,  Kossder,  p.  47,  n.  1.  In 
the  Prism-inscription  of  Sennacherib  (col.  v.  1,  32),  the  region  is  called 
las^an,  Assyrian  s  representing  foreign  s. 

2  The  text  is  here  too  badly  mutilated  for  translation. 


144  Christopher  Johriston,  [1897. 

ACCENTED     TRANSLITERATION. 

^Ana  hel  sarrdni,  heliia,  ardiika  ^  Bel-ihnt ! 

Asur,  jSamas,  u  Marduk  tUbi  libhi,  ^Mbi  siri,  ardku  lime,  u 
lahdr  *pale  ana  hel  sarrdni,  sar  mdtdii,  heliia  HiqiM  ! 

tfmu  sa  ultu  mdt  Tdrnti"'  ^u^a'  vc  pd^e,  arddni  sa  sarri  heliia, 
''ana  dl  Qahddnu  altapra,  umma :  ® "  Kddu  ina  dl  Qahddnu  ug,rd, 
u  ^tihdnu  ina  mdt  Elamti  tehd\  ^'^dtkti  diXkd  u  xuhtu  ^^xuhtdnu^ 
Ana  miixxi  dl  Irgidu — ^"^dlu  M  ii  kashu  qaqqar  ana  axU  agd 
"sd  dl  /Susan — ki  ithH,  Ammaladin  ^^nastku  sa  IdsVdn,  ii 
axesu,  "hi  axe  ahisu,  ii  mdre  axisu,  Daldn  ^^mdr  Adiadfa,  u 
iic  mdre-han'dti  ^^sa  dli  idHkll — qaqqar  ina  pdnisunu  ^^riXqu — 
xuhte  CL  ^^ixtahtlXni,  Nasikdti  ^°sd  dl  Laxiru  u  NuglX\  "^^ulttt 
onuxxi  sa  etnurH-ma  ^'^xiidldniia  ana  axisunu  ^^ullt  ittemhiX 
"^^ki  iplaxi),  pisuniL  ^^idddnilnu,  ade  itti  (Rev.)  ^Musezih- Mar- 
duk mdr  axtdiia,  ardu  sa  [sarril  '^heliia,  sa  ina  muxxi  kd[du] 
*apqidic,  ip^aht'Ct  icmma :  "  Ard[dni~\  *sa  sar  mdt  Assur  antni.''^ 
qastasunu  ^mala  ihds4  ki  idkiX,  ^ itti  Musezih- Marduk  ....  a-ni, 

Hna  mdt  Elamti  it[b'dni'] u,  ^qdtsmiit  ana  lih[hi ] 

Mm-sunu  ^ittadll tisunu,  ^°sa  ina  qdt  Iqisa-aplu  ..... 

\Mttsezih\ Marduk,  ^^ardu   sa  sarri  heli[ia ~\ni  ^"^ina 

muxxi  kd[du] ^^iqriddnu ti,  ^"^sa  usehil'd[m 

(?)ana  sa7*ri  heliia{?)al]tapra. 

^^Temu  sa  mdt  Elamti  iqd{?)h'd-ma  ^^umma: — 

TImma7%igas  apil  Amedirra  ^''sixu  ana  muxxi  Ummaxalddsu 
^^etepus,  Ultu  ndr  Xudxud  ^^adi  dl  Xa^dddnu  ittisu  ^°ittasizztt. 
Ummaxalddsu,  ^^emtlqesu  kt  upaxxir,  ^^adU  ina  muxxi  ndri  ana 
targi  ^^axames  nadlX. 

Iqisa-aplu,  ^*sa  ana  Ekalli  aspura,  tensunu  ^^xari^.  Ina 
ekalli  lis^alsu. 

4. 

E:  528. 

Urtaku,  King  of  Elam,  who  ascended  the  throne  in  the  year 
675  B.  c,  maintained  friendly  relations  with  Assyria  during  the 
lifetime  of  Esarhaddon  ;  and  the  latter's  son  and  successor,  Sarda- 
napallus,  endeavored  to  preserve  this  state  of  affairs.  When  a 
famine  broke  out  in  Elam,  the  Assyrian  monarch  sent  grain  for 
the  relief  of  the  distressed  people,  protected  those  Elamites  who 
had  taken  refuge  on  Assyrian  territory,  and  restored  them  to  their 
country  when  the  long  drought  was  over  and  the  land  was  once 
more  productive  (K.  B.,  ii.  p.  244).  But  Chaldean  influence, 
ever  hostile  to  Assyria,  had  become  powerful  at  the  court  of  Susa. 


Vol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  145 

Urtaku  allowed  himself  to  be  swayed  by  it,  and,  apparently  with- 
out warning,  marched  against  Babylon.  Sardanapallus,  though 
taken  by  surprise,  lost  no  time  in  marching  to  the  relief  of  the 
threatened  city,  signally  defeated  Urtaku,  and  compelled  him  to 
retire  to  Elam,  where  he  soon  after  died.  Among  the  Chaldeans 
who  took  part  in  this  affair  was  Bel-iqisa,  prince  of  Gambtilu,  a 
marshy  district  of  southeastern  Babylonia  about  the  mouth  of 
the  river  Uknti,  the  modern  Karoon,^  and  bordering  upon  Elam. 
Bel-iqisa,  who  was  an  Assyrian  subject,  cast  off  his  allegiance, 
and,  crossing  over  into  Elam,  joined  Urtaku  and  took  part  in  his 
ill-fated  expedition.  In  the  following  year  he  was  accidentally 
killed  {K.  B.,  ii.  p.  244,  11.  56-58).  His  son  and  successor, 
Dunanu,  bitterly  hostile  to  Assyria,  allied  himself  with  Teumman, 
the  successor  of  Urtaku,  and  on  the  defeat  and  death  of  his 
Elamite  ally,  his  land  was  ravaged,  its  inhabitants  put  to  the 
sword,  and  he  himself  with  all  his  family  carried  captive  to 
Assyria.  Here  he  was  forced  to  take  part  in  the  conqueror's 
triumphal  entry  into  Nineveh,  with  the  head  of  the  slain  Teum- 
man hanging  to  his  neck,  and  was  finally  put  to  death  with 
frightful  tortures  (Amrb.,  iv.  50  ff.;  K.  B.,  ii.  pp.  254-256). 

Nabti-usabsi,  the  writer  of  the  two  letters  translated  below, 
was  an  Assyrian  official  of  Erech  in  Southern  Babylonia.  He 
seems  to  have  suffered  severely  from  the  revolt  of  Bel-iqisa,  and 
his  advice  in  regard  to  the  reduction  of  Gamblilu  was  doubtless 
in  full  accord  with  his  personal  feelings,  which,  indeed,  he  is  at 
no  pains  to  conceal.  His  letter  which  is  published  in  The  Cunei- 
form Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia,  vol.  iv.,  pi.  47,  no.  2  (2d  ed.), 
may  be  translated  as  follows  :^ 

TRANSLATION. 

To  the  king  of  the  world,  my  lord,  thy  servant  Nabu-usabsi  ! 

May  Erech  and  E-anna  bless  the  king  of  the  world,  my  lord  !  I 
pray  daily  to  Istar  of  Erech  and  to  Nana  for  the  life  of  the  king, 
my  lord. 

The  king,  my  lord,  has  sent  me  (this  message)  :  "  Put  troops  on  the 
march,  and  send  them  against  G-ambiilu."  (Now)  the  gods  of  the  king, 
my  lord,  know  well  that  since  Bel-iqisa  revolted  from  my  lord  the 
king,  and  went  to  Elam,  destroyed  my  father's  house,  and  came  to  slay 
my  brother,  daily^ With  regard  to  what  the  king,  my  lord,  has 

^  See  Haupt,  Johns  Hopkins  University  Circulars,  No.  114,  p,  111b. 
The  river  of  Balakhshan  referred  to  by  Ibn  Batutah  in  the  passage 
quoted  by  Prof.  Haupt  is,  according  to  Haupt,  the  Koktcha  (i.  e.  "  Blue 

River,"    (<L^    ^^),  a  tributary  of  the  Oxus  (Amoo-Darya). 

2  This  text  is  also  published,  with  transliteration,  translation,  and 
notes,  by  Pinches  in  TSBA.,  vi.  pp.  228  ff. 

3  For  the  next  five  lines  the  text  is  almost  entirely  obliterated,  but 
probably  contained  the  statement  that  the  writer  prays  daily  for  revenge 
upon  those  who  have  thus  injured  him. 

VOL.  XVIII.  10 


146  Christopher  Johnston^  [1897. 

sent  (to  command),  I  will  go  and  carry  out  the  behest  of  my  lord  the 
king.  In  case  (however)  the  inhabitants  of  Grambulu  will  not  become 
submissive  by  these  means,  (then)  if  it  be  agreeable  to  my  lord  the 
king,  let  an  envoy  of  my  lord  the  king  come  ;  let  us  assemble  all  Baby- 
lonia ;  and  let  us  go  with  him,  win  back  the  country,  and  give  it  to  my 
lord  the  king. 

I  send  (my  advice)  to  my  lord  the  king,  let  my  lord  the  king  do  as  he 
pleases.    Preserve  this  letter. 

ACCENTED    TEANSLITERATION. 

^Ana  sar  mdtdti,  heliia,  '^ard'dka  NabH-usabM  ! 

'  Uruk  u  JE-anna  ^ana  sar  mdtdti^  heliia,  likruhU  ! 

'  tPmussu  Istar  Uruk  ^u  Nand  ana  haldt  napsdte  ''sa  sarri 
heliia  ugalM  ! 

Sa  sarru  helu'a  ^ispura,  umma  :  "  XiHdnu  ^tusaghat-ma,  ana 
muxxi  dl  Gamh'dlu  ^""tasdpary  Ildni  sa  sarri  heliia  ^^M  idH  ki 
ultu  muxxi  ^'^sa  Bel-iqisa  ina  qdt  sarri  heliia  ^^ikkiru,  mdt  Elamti 
ildudd-ma,  ^^hit  ahiia  ixpH,   u  ina  pdni  ^^ddku  sa  axiia  illiku, 

^^tlniussu  Samas  Id  u [lines  17-20  are  broken  away] 

(Rev.)  ^^Ennd !  sa  sarru  heWa  is[purd?ii]  ^^attallak  u  naspartu 
^^sa  sarri  heliia  usal[lam].  ^^ImmatSma  lihhU  agd  ^^dsih  ina  dl 
GamhUlu  '^'^id  ihaM,  ki  pdni  ^''sarri  heliixi  maxru,  apil  sipri  ^^sa 
sarri  heliia  lillikd-ma  ^^mdt  Akkadi  gahhi  nipxur-ma,  ^^ittisu 
nillik-ma,  mdti  ^^nuterd-ma  ana  sarri  heliia  ^^niddin. 

A7ia  sarri  heliia  ^^altapra,  sarru  helW^a,  ^*ki  sa  iWu  ^Hipus. 
Egirtu  annitu  ugri. 


K  79. 

The  following  letter,  also  from  Nabli-usabsi,  is  published  in 
The  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia,  vol.  iv.,  pi.  46,  no. 
3  (2d  ed.),  and  is  translated  by  Pinches  in  Transactions  of  the 
Society  of  Bihlical  Archaeology,  vi.  pp.  239  ff.  It  contains  an 
account  of  the  practices  of  a  certain  Pir'i-Bel  and  his  father 
Bel-eter,  who  seem  to  have  been  Chaldean  conspirators,  engaged 
in  fomenting  strife  between  Elam  and  Assyria.  A  Bel-eter,  son 
of  Nabti-sum-eres,  vras  carried  captive  to  Nineveh  with  Dunanu, 
prince  of  Gambtilu,  and  he  and  his  brother  Nabti-na'id  were  there 
forced  to  desecrate  the  bones  of  their  father,  who  had  been 
largely  instrumental  in  inducing  Urtaku  to  commence  hostilities 
against  Babylonia  (K.  B.,  ii.  p.  258,  11.  84-91).  If  this  was  the 
Bel-eter  mentioned  by  Nabii-usabsl,  the  source  of  his  enmity  to 
Assyria  may  be  readily  understood,  and,  in  this  case,  the  letter 
must  be  referred  to  a  later  date  than  the  preceding  one  (K  528). 


Vol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  147 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  similarity  of 
names  is  merely  a  coincidence,  and  the  events  here  narrated  may 
have  preceded  the  revolt  of  Bel-iqisa  and  the  invasion  of  Urtaku. 
Kudurru,  who  is  mentioned  below,  was  doubtless  the  governor  of 
Erech  referred  to  above  in  connection  with  Bel-ibnt.  The  letter 
may  be  rendered  as  follows  : 

TRANSLATION. 

To  the  king  of  the  world,  my  lord,  thy  servant  Nabu-usabsi ! 

May  Erech  and  E-anna  be  gracious  to  the  king  of  the  world,  my  lord  ! 
I  pray  daily  to  Istar  of  Erech  and  to  Nana  for  the  life  of  my  lord 
the  king. 

Pir'i-Bel,  son  of  Bel-eter,  with  his  father,  having  gone  forth  to  Elam 
some  ten  years  ago,  came  from  Elam  to  Babylonia  with  his  father. 
Having  come  (hither),  they  practiced  in  Erech  all  that  was  evil  towards 
Assyria.  Having  subsequently  retired  to  Elam,  his  father,  Bel-eter, 
died  in  Elam,  and  he  in  the  month  of  Marcheshvan,  having  brought 

letters  to  me  and  to the  governor,  we  sent(?)  the  letters  which 

he  brought  by  Daru-sarru  to  (?) ^ If  he  tell  the  king, 

my  lord,  "  I  am  come  from  Elam,"  let  not  the  king,  my  lord,  believe 
liim.  From  the  month  of  Marcheshvan,  when  we  sent  to  my  lord  the 
king  the  letters  he  brought,  until  the  present  time  he  has  not  been  to 
Elam.  Should  the  king,  my  lord,  desire  confirmation  of  these  words, 
Idu'a,  the  servant  of  Kudurru,  who  (brought  ?)  to  Erech  these  reports 

about  him(?) "^l^t  these  men  tell  my  lord  the  king  how  these 

treasonable  letters  were  written,  and  if  my  lord  the  king  does  not 
understand  about  these  letters  which  we  sent  in  Marcheshvan  to  my 
lord  the  king  by  Daru-§arru,  let  my  lord  the  king  question  Daru-sarru 
the  satellite.    I  send  to  my  lord  in  order  that  he  may  be  informed. 

ACCENTED    TRANSLITERATION. 

^Ana  sar  mdtdte,  beliia,  ^ardij,ka  NahiX-usabst ! 

'  Uruk  u  E-anna  ana  sar  mdtdte  ^beliia  likruhlX  ! 

Umussu  ^Istar,  UruJc,  u  Nand  ^ana  haldt  napsdte  sa  sarri 
beliid-ma  ''u^allt ! 

PlrH-Bel,  apilm  sa  Bel-eter,  ^sandte  agd  x  ultu  bid  ana  ^mdt 
Elamti  M  u  abisu  'dpU,  ^°uUu  mdt  Elamti  ana  mdt  AJckadi 
^HllikHni,  sU  u  abisu.  ^^Ki  illikiXni,  vnimma  sa  ana  ^^muxxi  mdt 
Assur  bisu  ina  Uruk  ^*^tepM,  Arkdnis,  ana  mdt  Elamti  '"ki 
ixxisd,  Bel-et^r  abusu  ^"ina  mdt  Elamti  mitu,  "u  sit  ina  libbi 


'  The  text  is  here    completely    broken    away.      The  translation  is 
resumed  at  line  10  of  the  reverse. 


2  The  text  is  here  very  uncertain.  J'^^^XS^  ^  A  /f 


or  THE 

UNIVERSITY 


148  Christopher  Johnston,  [1897. 

Araxsdm7ia  sipireti  ^^ana  pdniia  u  ana  pdni ^^paxdti  k% 

issd,  si[2nre\ti  ^°pa  iss]d^   ina  qdt  Ddru-[sarru] [From 

obverse  1.  20  to  reverse  ].  7,  the  text  is  destroyed] (Rev.) 

''enna  isten  qallu  sa ^ittisu  ana  Uruk  ilta 

^ManMma  ana  sarri  heliia  iqdhi^^'^umma  :  "  JJltu  mdt  JElamti 
attalka^^  ^^sarru  heWa  la  iqdpsu.  TJltu  hid  ina  Araxsdmna 
^^ sipireti  issd-ma  ana  sarri  heliia  ^^nusehila  adi  sa  enna  ana  mdt 
Elamti  ^*ul  ixxis.  Ki  sarru  heWa  xard^u  ^^sa  dihhe  agd  ^ih'dy 
ana  IdH^a  ^"^ qallu  sa  Kudurra  sa  ana    Uruk  "dihhesu  (?)  agd 

idatsu* ^^swiHti-ma  sipireti  ^°agd  sa  sdrdte  ki   sa   satrd 

"^^ana  sarri  heliia  liqhiX,  u  ki  "^"^sa  sipirUi  agd,  sa  ina  lihbi  Arax- 
sdmna "ina  qdt  Ddru-sarru  ana  sarri  heliia  ^*nusehila,  same 
heWa  Id  xassii,  "^^ Ddru-sarru  mutir-p\%tu  sarru  '^'^heWa  liPal. 
Ana  sarri  heliia  '^''altapra,  sarru  heWa  M  idi. 

Another  letter  from  Nabli-usabsi  to  the  king  (K  514)  is  pub- 
lished, with  transliteration,  translation,  commentary,  and  addi- 
tional notes,  by  Pinches,  in  S.  A.  Smith's  Keilschrvfttexte  Asur- 
hanipals,  iii.  pp.  59-62,  105,  106  ;  compare  also  Bezold's  Cat.  of 
the  K  Collection,  p.  120.  The  mutilation  of  lines  14-17  some- 
what obscures  the  sense ;  but  the  latter  refers  chiefly  to  horses — 
some  of  which  appear  to  have  been  presented  to  the  goddess 
Istar  of  Erech  by  the  King  of  Elam — purchased  for  the  king  of 
Assyria  by  Nabti-usabsi,  who  promises  to  forward  vouchers  for 
the  expense  incurred. 

6. 

K  82U. 

K  824  is  published  with  transliteration,  translation,  and  com- 
mentary in  S.  A.  Smith's  Keilschrifttexte  Asurhanipals,  ii.  pp. 
63-67.  Sin-tabni-u§ur  ("Sin  protect  my  offspring"),  to  whom  it 
is  addressed,  was  the  son  of  Ningal-iddina  ("Ningal  has  given"), 
and  was  governor  of  Ur,  in  Southern  Babylonia,  during  the  rebel- 
lion of  Samas-sum-uktn,  king  of  Babylon  and  brother  of  Sarda- 
napallus.  Kudurru,  governor  of  Erech,  writes  to  King  Sardana- 
pallus  that  he  has  received  a^message  from  Sin-tabni-u9ur  to  the 
effect  that  an  emissary  of  Samas-sum-ukin,  engaged  in  dissemi- 
nating revolution  through  the  country,  has  approached  him  with 
the  view  of  engaging  him  in  the  treasonable  design  ;  that  a  por- 
tion of  the  district  under  his  authority  has  already  revolted  ;  and 
that  unless  reinforcements  be  promptly  sent  he  has  the  gravest 
fears  for  the  result.     Kudurru,  in  answer  to  this  urgent  appeal, 

*  The  text  of  line  18,  and  of  the  opening  words  of  line  19,  is  very 
uncertain.     See  Part  II.  • 


Vol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  149 

has  sent  a  force  to  his  assistance  (K  545 Y  ;  Winckler,  Sammlung 
V071  Keilschrifttexten^  ii.  p.  55, 11.  6  ff.).  According  to  Geo.  Smith 
{Hist,  of  Assurbanipal,  p.  201),  followed  by  Tiele  (Bah.-Assyr. 
Gesch.,  pp.  377,  381),  Sin-tabni-u§ur,  unable  to  hold  out  until  the 
arrival  of  these  reinforcements,  was  constrained  against  his  will 
to  join  the  rebels. 

The  evidence  that  he  did  so,  however,  is  by  no  means  conclu- 
sive. His  name  is  mentioned,  it  is  true,  in  connection  with  that 
of  Samas-sum-ukin  in  two  extracts  from  so-called  omen-tablets 
published  in  Geo.  Smith's  work  (pp.  184,  185);  but  the  context  is 
in  both  instances  obscure,  owing  to  mutilation  of  the  text,  and 
his  participation  in  the  rebellion,  of  which  there  is  no  other  evi- 
dence, is  merely  an  inference  derived  from  the  juxtaposition  of 
the  two  names.  Both  these  tablets  would  seem,  however,  to 
belong  to  the  class  of  texts  so  ably  illustrated  in  Knudtzon's 
Gehete  an  den  Sonnengott,  containing  requests  for  information 
addressed  to  the  oracles  of  the  gods.  It  was  by  no  means 
unusual  to  consult  the  oracle  in  this  way  with  reference  to  an 
official,  especially  when  recently  appointed,  or  when  about  to  be 
entrusted  with  some  important  commission  ;  and  several  instances 
are  given  in  Knudtzon's  work  (cf.  e.  g.  nos.  67,  112,  114,  115). 
Now  the  first  of  the  above  mentioned  tablets  (K  4696),  dated  in 
the  month  of  Ab,  651  b.  c,  contains  the  words,  "  Sin-tabni-u9ur, 
son  of  Ningal-iddina,  who  has  been  appointed  governor  of  IJr " 
(literally,  "over  Ur"),  which  would  seem  to  indicate  that  his 
appointment  was  recent ;  while  in  the  second  (K  28),  dated  in  the 
preceding  month  of  Tammuz,  his  name  occurs  without  mention 
of  Ur.  It  seems  likely,  therefore,  that  he  was  appointed  gover- 
nor of  Ur  in  the  month  of  Ab,  651,  and  that  both  tablets  contain 
inquiries,  addressed  to  the  oracle,  with  reference  to  his  probable 
conduct  towards  Samas-sum-ukin,  who  was  at  that  time  in  open 
rebellion.  Unfortunately,  both  texts  are  badly  mutilated,  and 
only  portions  of  them  are  published  ;  but,  in  the  absence  of  other 
evidence,  the  participation  of  Sin-tabni-U9ur  in  the  great  revolt 
can  hardly  be  regarded  as  an  established  fact. 

The  letter  here  translated  (K  824)  was  probably  written  some 
time  before  these  events.  Ummanigas,  mentioned  in  it  as  one  of 
the  calumniators  of  Sin-tabnt-u9ur,  was  one  of  the  three  sons  of 
Urtaku  who  took  refuge  at  the  Assyrian  court  w^hen  their  father 
was  dethroned  and  murdered  by  his  brother  Teumman.  With 
the  aid  of  Assyrian  troops  furnished  by  Sardanapallus,  he  defeated 
Teumman,  who  was  slain  in  the  battle,  and  Ummanigas  thus  be- 
came king  of  Elam ;  but  he  was  subsequently  so  ungrateful  as  to 
ally  himself  with  Samas-sum-ukin.  In  651  or  650  b.  c,  he  was, in  his 
turn,  deposed  and  slain  by  his  brother  Tammaritu,  who  after  a 
brief  reign  was,  in  the  year  650  b.  g.,  deposed  by  Indabigas,  and 
with  difficulty  made  his  escape  to  Babylonia,  whence,  as  already 
narrated,  he  was  sent  on  to  Assyria  by  Bel-ibni,  governor  of  the 
Gulf  District.  It  was  probably  while  residing  at  the  Assyrian 
oourt,  or  at  least  prior  to  his  alliance  with  the  rebellious  brother 


100  Christopher  Johnston,  [1897. 

of  Sardanapallus,  that  he  endeavored  to  cast  suspicion  on  the  loy- 
alty of  Sin-tabni-u9ur.  His  accusations  were  not  listened  to  by 
the  king,  who  expresses  the  highest  regard  for,  and  the  utmost 
confidence  in,  the  integrity  of  his  servant.  The  text  may  be 
translated  as  follows  : 


TRANSLATION. 

Message  of  the  King  to  Sin-tabni-u^ur.  It  is  well  with  me  ;  may  thy 
heart  be  of  good  cheer  ! 

With  reference  to  thy  message  about  Sin-sarra-ugur,  how  could  he 
speak  evil  words  of  thee,  and  I  listen  to  them  ?  Since  Samas  perverted 
his  understanding,^  and  Ummanigas  slandered  thee  before  me,  they 
have  sought  thy  death,  but  Asur  my  god  withholds  me  (from  that),  and 
not  willingly  could  I  have  put  to  death  my  servant  and  the  support  of 
my  father's  house.  No  ! — for  thou  wouldst  (be  willing  to)  perish  along 
with  thy  lord's  house — (never)  could  T  consent  to  that.  He  and  Umma- 
nigas have  plotted  thy  destruction,  but  because  I  know  thy  loyalty  I 
have  conferred  even  greater  favor  (than  before)  upon  thee  ;  is  it  not 
so  ?  These  two  years  thou  hast  not  brought  foe  and  need  upon  thy 
lord's  house.2  What  could  they  say  against  a  servant  who  loves  his 
lord's  house,  that  I  could  believe  ?  And  with  regard  to  the  service 
which  thou  and  thy  brother  Assyrians  have  rendered,  about  which 
thou  sendest  (word),  all  that  (?)  ye  have  done,  the  guard  for  me  which 

ye  have  kept^   and  this which  is  most  honorable  in  my 

sight,  and  a  favor  which  I  shall  requite  to  thee  till  (the  times  of  our) 
children's  children. 


ACCENTED     TRANSLITERATION. 

^Amcit  sarri  ana  8in-tabni-ug,ur  ! 

^Sulmu  idsif  lihhaha  ^IH  tdbka  ! 

^Ina  miixxi  Sin-sarra-uQur  ^sa  taspur,  mindrna  dibheka  ^htsMu 
iqahd-ma  ''u  andku  asemis? 

^Istu  Samas  lihhasu  issuxa  ^u  Ummanigas  qar^eka  ^^inapdniia 
ekulu,  ana  ^^ddki  iddiniXka.  ^"^  U  Asur  ilanild  ^^urdqam-ma 
^^suxdH-ma  arda'a  ^^u  isdu  sa  hit  ahiia  ^Hd  adUku.  "  Ul — ina 
libhi  sa  itti  ^^bit  belika  ^^qatdta  (Kev.)  "^HUmiir  agd.  jSH  u 
^'  Umonanigas  ana  muxxi  "^^ddkika  ilmu,  ^^u,  ina  libbi  sa  ketiiltka 
^HdU,  utttr  remu  "^^askundka — idniX  f 


1  The  meaning  is  that  he  must  be  out  of  his  senses  to  make  such 
accusations. 

2  Although  in  that  time  he  had  ample  opportunity  to  do  so. 

'^  Text  mutilated.  ' 


Vol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  151 

^^Sanita  agd  sandte  ^''nakru  u  hubiXti  ^^ina  inuxxi  hit  helika  ^^ul 
tasdud.  MinU  ^"^ iqablXni-ma  ina  muxxi  ^^ardi  sa  bit  belisu 
irdmu  "u  andku  aqtpu'  f 

"  U  ina  muxxi  dulla  sa  atta  u  ^*Assurd  axeka  ^Hepusd\  sa  tas- 
pur,  ^^ban  sa  tepusd\  ^''ma^garta'a  sa  ta^^u[rd^].     ^^ab.  an.  an. 

,  (Edge)  ^^u  Mu.  GA  agdj  sa  ina  pdniia  banU,  u  tdbdte  *°sa 

utdrdka  ana  libbi  sa  ana  mar  mdre. 


K 

This  letter,  published  in  Harper's  Letters  of  the  K  Collection, 
No.  138,  carries  us  back  to  an  earlier  period  than  those  treated 
above.  The  writer,  Sa-Asur-dubbu,  was  governor  of  the  impor- 
tant city  and  district  of  Tuskhan,  on  the  easterly  course  of  the 
northwestern  bend  of  the  Tigris,  which  had  been  a  possession  of 
Assyria  since  at  least  880  b.  c,  and  in  all  probability  much  earlier 
(Tiele,  Bab.-Assyr.  Gesch.,  pp.  180,  181),  In  707  b.  c,  the  six- 
teenth year  of  the  reign  of  Sargon,  the  conqueror  of  Samaria, 
Sa-Asur-dubbu  gave  his  name  to  the  year  as  Eponym,  a  fact 
which  marks  him  as  a  magnate  of  the  highest  order  (K.  B.,  i.  pp. 
207,  214).  In  another  letter  (K  1067  ;  "Harper,  No.  139),  which 
is  unfortunately  so  mutilated  that  the  context  cannot  be  made 
out  with  certainty,  he  mentions  the  city  of  Penza,  the  king  of 
the  Armenian  district  Urartu,  and  a  certain  Khutesub.  The 
latter,  for  whose  name  the  reading  Bagtisub  is  with  great  prob- 
ability suggested  by  the  Rev.  C.  H.  W.  Johns  (PSBA.,  xvii.  p. 
234),  appears  in  Harper's  work  (No.  215=K  1037)  as  the  author 
of  a  report,  also  badly  mutilated,  with  reference  to  the  neigh- 
boring countries  of  Urartu,  Man,  and  Zikirtu,  against  which 
king  Sargon  (reigned  722-705  b,  c.)  waged  successful  wars  in 
715-714  B.  c. 

In  the  letter  here  translated  (K  469),  Sa-Asur-dubbu  gives,  with 
military  terseness,  an  account  of  a  treacherous  attack  made  upon 
a  small  party  of  his  soldiers  by  a  certain  native  of  Supria,  a 
district  which  apparently  lay  near  Tuskhan,  in  the  corner  formed 
by  the  northwestern  Tigris,  where  it  turns  its  course  eastward 
(cf.  Knudtzon's  Gebete  an  den  Sonnengott,  ii.  p.  151). 

The  city  of  Ddr-Sarrukin,  or  "  Sargonsburg,"  mentioned  in  line 
20  of  the  reverse,  and  for  which  the  timber  mentioned  in  line  17 
was  probably  required,  was  founded,  after  a  long  cherished  plan, 
by  the  great  king  whose  name  it  commemorates,  and  completed  in 
the  latter  years  of  his  reign.  On  the  22^  of  Tishri  (September), 
707,  in  the  eponymy  of  Sa-Asur-dubbu,  the  images  of  the  gods 
were  carried  through  its  streets  in  solemn  procession,  and  estab- 
lished in  their  temples,  and  in   April  of  the  following  year  the 


162  Christopher  Johnston,  [1897. 

king  formally  took  up  his  residence  in  his  new  capital.  One  year 
later  (705),  he  fell  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin  (Tiele,  JSah.-Assyr. 
Gesch.,  p.  248).  The  site  of  Dtir-Sarrukin,  occupied  by  the  mod- 
ern village  of  Khorsabad,  was  explored  in  the  years  1843-1844 
by  the  French  consul  at  Mosul,  Emile  Botta,  who  discovered  the 
palace  of  Sargon,  with  a  wealth  of  sculptures  and  inscriptions 
which  were  conveyed  to  Paris,  and  now  form  part  of  the  Louvre 
collection.  The  letter  of  Sa-Asur-dubbu  may  be  rendered  as 
follows  : 

TRANSLATION. 

To  the  king,  my  lord,  thy  servant  Sa-Asur-dubbu  !  A  hearty  greet- 
ing to  the  king,  my  lord  !  Grreeting  to  the  fortresses,  to  the  country 
of  the  king  my  lord  ! 

I  sent  two  of  my  officers,  accompanied  by  six  men  and  provided  with 
a  warrant,  after  some  deserters  who  were  in  the  city  of  Penza.  Two 
chiefs  of  battalion  went  along  with  them.  The  soldiers  took  down 
rations,  of  which  they  partook  (en  route).  The  brother  of  the  Suprian, 
having  shared  their  meal  with  them,  they  set  out  and  travelled  along 
together.  The  Suprian  had  laid  an  ambush  beforehand,  (but)  the  two 
officers,  with  the  six  soldiers,  got  out  (of  it,  and)  rescued  both  the 
chiefs  of  battalion.  I  sent  word  to  them,  "  Establish  (there)  a  military 
post."  I  shall  make  an  investigation,  (and)  if  they  are  in  my  country 
I  shall  lay  hands  on  the  rascals.  I  went  and  brought  up  troops  into 
the  fortress.  Let  the  king,  my  lord,  send  orders  that  the  Taziru  and 
the  Itu  of  my  lord  the  king,  who  have  appointed  their  deputies  here, 
may  come  (themselves)  and  stand  guard  with  me,  until  they  get  this 
timber  away.  The  king,  my  lord,  shall  decide.  My  men  are  doing 
duty  in  Dur-Sarrukin,  (but)  the  cavalry  are  here  with  me. 


ACCENTED    TRANSLITERATION. 

^Ana  sarri^  belua,  ^arduka  jSa-Asur-dubbu  ! 

^LiX  sulmu  ana  sarrl,  *belUa,  adannis! 

^Sulmu  ana  dl  Mr  at,  ^ana  mdti  sa  sarri  beliia  ! 

'ii  reseia,  vi  pdbe  ^issisunu,  kimukku  ina  qdtisunu,  ^ina 
niuxxi  xalqUte,  sa  ma  dl  Penzd  ^^assaparsunu.  ii  rabe-qi^ir 
^^issisunu  ittallaklX,  ^"^Qdbe  usseridHni  ^^akdle,  ina  libbi  etaklH- 
^^Axasu  sa  SuprVd  ^^issisunu  ina  libbi  ^^etakla.  Qa .  .  .  .ni 
axis  "ittilpdni,  ^^ittalk4?ii.  ^^SuprVd  ^^subtu  ina  joaw(^^w 
^^ussesibu,  (Rev.)  'ii  reseia  ^itti  vi  pdbe  ittagH,  ^rabe-qi^iri^a 
*kilale  ussezibd.  ^Assapardsunu  '  subat  ^dbe  ^rammi  \  Md,  aPal; 
''summa  ina  mdtiia  sunu,  addaii  ^andku  qdtd'a  ina  kibsdti. 
^Attallak,  ^dbe  ina  ^°btrtisu    usselVa.     ^^2'aziru,  ItiCa  ^^sa  sarri 


Vol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  JEpistolary  Literature.  153 

beliia,  sa  annaJca^^  uqaHb{'d?)*-ni  saJcnMisunu,  ^*sarru  belt 
lispura  ^^lilliJciXni,  issia  ana  ^^ma^^arti  lizzizll,  ^''adt  guMre 
annMe  ^^use^iXni.  Sarru  belt  ^^Udd.  Cdbeia  '^[inal  dl  DiXr-Sar- 
rukin  '^\dulYa  ippiisiX,  (Edge)  "^"^sa  bithalldti  sunu   ina  pdniia 

^^izzazH. 


8. 

K  629. 

The  worship  of  the  god  Nabti  seems  to  have  been  introduced 
into  Assyria  from  Babylonia, — where  he  was  from  early  times 
the  special  divinity  of  the  important  city  of  Borsippa  near  Baby- 
lon,— during  the  reign  of  Ramman-nirari  III.  (812-783  B.C.),  before 
which  time  the  god  would  seem  to  have  played  no  prominent  part 
in  the  Assyrian  pantheon.  The  annotated  Eponym  Canon  records 
that  in  the  year  787  the  god  Nabti  made  solemn  entry  into  his 
**new  temple"  (K.  B.,  i.  p.  210),  and  this  temple,  situated  in  the 
city  of  Calah,  where  its  ruins  have  been  explored,  bore,  like  its 
famous  Babylonian  prototype,  the  name  of  Ezida,  ''the  true  house." 
Upon  two  statues  of  Nabti  found  by  W.  K.  Loftus  in  the  temple 
at  Calah,  is  an  inscription  (identical  in  both  cases)  stating  that 
these  statues  were  prepared  by  Bel-tar9i-ilu-ma,  governor  of  Calah 
and  the  adjoining  district,  as  a  votive  offering  "  for  the  life  of 
Ramman-nirari,  king  of  Assyria,  his  lord,  and  Sammu-ramat,  the 
lady  of  the  palace,  his  lady,"  as  also  for  his  own  welfare  and  that 
of  his  family  {K.  B.,  i.  p.  192). 

Sammu-ramat,  whose  name  recalls  that  of  the  mythical  Semira- 
mis,^  was  either  the  wife  or  mother  of  the  king ;  and  Tiele  argues 
with  great  plausibility  that  this  lady  was  a  Babylonian  princess, 
and  that  the  introduction  of  the  cult  of  Nabti  into  Assyria  was 
owing  to  her  influence  (Tiele,  Bab-Assyr.  Gesch.^  pp.  207,  212). 
Once  established,  the  worship  of  the  god  took  firm  root,  and  con- 
tinued to  flourish  down  to  the  last  days  of  the  empire. 

Nabii-sum-iddina  ("  Nabli  has  given  a  name"),  who,  in  the 
letter  here  presented  describing  a  religious  ceremony  and  solemn 
procession  in  honor  of  the  god,  styles  himself  the  prefect  of  the 
temple  of  Nabti,  appears  to  have  lived  in  the  reign  of  Esarhad- 
don  ;  and  the  prince  to  whom  the   letter  is  addressed  was  proba- 


*  Harper's  text  reads  here  u-ka-ip-ni  (i.  e.  uqd'ip,  II.  1,  of  qdpu,  Bt. 
Cl*p),  but  the  enclitic  ni  cannot  be  joined  to  the  verb  without  a  union 

vowel  (cf.  Del.,  Assyr.  Gram.,  §79,  /3),  and  in  any  case  we  should 
expect  the  modus  relativus  after  the  preceding  sa.  The  insertion  of  u 
improves  both  the  sense  and  the  construction.  For  itH  as  an  official 
title,  see  Delitzsch,  Handw.,  p.  157a,  and  PSBA.,  May  1889,  pi.  iv.  col.  i. 
18  ;  col.  ii.  11. 
^  Cf.  Beitr.  zur  Assyr.,  i.  p.  323  below. 


154  Christopher  Johnston,  [1897. 

bly  Sardanapallus,  and  was  evidently  the  heir  to  the  throne, 
since  a  wish  is  expressed  for  the  long  duration  of  his  future  reign. 
A  letter  to  the  king  from  the  same  writer,  or  from  a  person  of 
the  same  name  (K  1017  ;  Harper,  No.  66),  is  too  badly  mutilated 
to  yield  any  connected  sense,  but  mentions  (rev.  11.  1,  2)  the  crown 
prince  {mar  sarri  rahu  sa  btt-ridUte) ,  and  the  name  of  Sardanapal- 
lus, of  which  traces  are  preserved,  is  evidently  to  be  restored 
before  the  title. 

Fourteen  letters  (Nos.  60-73)  are  published  in  Harper's  work 
under  the  name  of  Nabii-sum-iddina.  Of  Nos.  72  (K  1272)  and 
73  (K  5509)  merely  the  opening  words  remain  ;  and  the  context 
of  Nos.  67  (K  1050)  and  70  (K  1070)  is  rendered  unintelligible 
by  the  mutilation  of  the  tablet.  No.  66  has  just  been  referred 
to,  and  all  the  rest  are  reports  of  the  arrival  of  horses.^  Whether 
the  priest  of  Nabti  and  the  writer  about  horses  were  identical  is 
open  to  doubt.  The  formula  of  greeting  is  certainly  the  same  in 
the  letters  of  both  persons,  but  it  is  not  a  very  characteristic  one. 
The  invocation  to  Nabti  and  Marduk  is  common  to  many  writers; 
precisely  the  same  formula  is  found,  for  example,  in  the  letter  of 
Nabti-n^9ir  ("  Nabli  protects")  to  the  king  (Harper,  No.  178=:K 
482). 

The  ceremonies  attending  the  consecration  of  the  couch  of  a 
god,  referred  to  in  the  letter  before  us,  are  minutely  described  in 
a  liturgical  text  (K  164;  Beitr.  zur  Assyr.,  ii.  p.  635).  After  the 
appropriate  offerings  are  presented,  the  officiating  priestess  puri- 
fies the  feet  of  the  divine  image  with  a  sprig  of  reed  and  a  vessel 
of  oil,  approaches  (?)  the  bed  three  times,  kisses  the  feet  of  the 
image,  and  retires  and  sits  down.  She  then  burns  cedar  wood 
dipped  in  wine,  places  before  the  image  the  heart  of  a  sheep 
wrapped  in  a  cloth,  and  offers  libations.  Aromatic  woods  are 
consecrated  and  burnt,  further  libations  and  offerings  are  made, 
tables  are  spread  for  various  divinities,  and  the  ceremony  con- 
cludes with  a  prayer  for  the  king.  This  recalls  Herodotus' 
description  (i.  181)  of  the  temple  of  Bel-Merodach  at  Babylon, 
where  it  is  stated  that  the  chamber  containing  the  couch  of  the 
god,  beside  which  stood  a  golden  table,  was  at  night  occupied 
only  by  a  woman  supposed  to  be  chosen  by  the  god  himself  from 
all  the  women  of  the  country.  It  would  appear  from  the  text 
before  us  that  stables  were  attached  to  the  temples  for  the  accom- 
modation of  horses  used  on  ceremonial  occasions,  when  a  spec- 
ially appointed  charioteer  officiated.  The  jar-bearers  mentioned 
probably  carried  holy  water  for  lustral  purposes  and  wine  for 
libations.  « 

The  letter  of  Nabti-sum-iddina  (K  629  =  Harper,  No.  65)  may 
be  thus  translated  : 


'  For  translations  of  most  of  these,  and  of  other  letters  upon  the  sam© 
subject,  see  Delitzsch  in  Beitr.  zur  Assyr,,  i.  pp.  203-212  ;  ii.  pp.  44-55. 


Vol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  165 

TRANSLATION. 

To  the  prince,  my  lord,  thy  servant  Nabu-sum-iddina  ! 

A  hearty,  hearty  greeting  to  the  prince,  my  lord  !  May  Nabu  and 
Marduk  bless  the  prince,  my  lord  ! 

On  the  third  day  of  the  month  of  lyyar  the  city  of  Calah  will  con- 
secrate the  couch  of  Nabu,  (and)  the  god  will  enter  the  bed-chamber. 
On  the  fourth  (will  take  place)  the  return  of  Nabu.  The  prince  my 
lord  shall  decide.  I  am  the  prefect  of  the  house  of  Nabu  thy  god, 
(so)  I  (of  course)  shall  go. 

At  Calah  the  god  will  come  forth  from  the  palace  enclosure  (?),  (and) 
from  the  palace  enclosure  (?)  will  go  to  the  grove.  A  sacrifice  will  be 
offered.  The  charioteer  of  the  gods,  coming  from  the  stable  of  the 
gods,  will  take  the  god  forth,  bring  him  back,  and  convey  him  within. 
This  is  the  route  of  the  procession. 

Of  the  jar-bearers,  whoever  has  a  sacrifice  (to  offer)  will  offer  it. 
Whoever  offers  up  one  qa^  of  his  food,  may  enter  the  house  of  Nabu. 
May  they2  perfectly  execute  the  ordinances  of  the  gods,  to  the  life  and 
health  of  the  prince,  my  lord.  What  (commands)  has  the  prince,  my 
lord,  to  send  me  ?  May  Bel  and  Nabu,  who  granted  help  in  the  month 
of  Shebat,  guard  the  life  of  the  prince,  my  lord.  May  they  make  thy 
sovereignty  extend  to  the  end  of  time. 


ACCENTED    TRANSLITERATION. 

^Ana  mdr  sarri  beliia,  ^arduka  NablX-sura-iddina  ! 

^Lil  sidmu  ana  mdr  sarri  beliia  ^adannis  adannis  ! 

^Nahtl,  Marduk  ana  mdr  sarri  ^beliia  likrubH  I 

'  tPmu  sdlsu  sa  arax  Ari  dl  Kalxi  ^ersu  sa  NahiX  tahdrar. 
*NablX  ina  bit  ersi  errab.  "  tfmu  rebU  tdrsu  sa  Nabd,  ^^Mdr 
sarri  belt  ijdd.  ^^^™  xazdnu  sa  bit  NabU  ^^iluka  andku,  ^Hallik. 
Ina  dl  Kalxi  ^Hlu  ina  libbi  adri  ekalli  '\(^d,  sa  libbi  adri  ekalli 
^''ana  kiri  illaka.  ^^NiqiX  (Edge)  ^^innepas.  ^"[Z^zaJ  ur'd  sa  ildni 
^^mukil-asdte  (Rev.)  'sa  ildm-ma  illak^  "^ilu  usepd  ^u  ussaxxar 
^userab.  SU  ^et^qa  illaka.  ^ Nds-sappdte,  sa  niqUsu  HbdMni, 
ippas.  ^Sa  i  qa  aklisu  useld,  Hna  bit  NabiX  errab.  ^'^Par^e  sa 
ildni  siinu,  ^^ana  bullut  napsdte  ^^sa  mdr  sarri  beliia,  ^^lusallimiX 
lipuM.  ^*Minu  sa  mdr  sarri  ^^beli  isdpardni  ?  ^'^Bel,  NabiX ^  sa 
ina  arax  Sabdti  ^''xamatta  iskunilni,  ^^napsdte  sa  mdr  sarri 
(Edge)  ^^beliia  UqquviI,  ^""sarriltka  ^^ana  ^dt  iXme  lusdlikH. 


A  measure;  cf.  p.  141,  1.  56. 
Those  officiating  at  the  ceremony. 


156  Christopher  Johnston^  [1897. 

^. 

K  5J^7. 

The  general  tone  of  this  letter,  and  the  reference  to  the  gods 
Bel  and  Nabti  contained  in  it,  would  seem  to  favor  the  identifica- 
tion of  the  writer  with  the  priest  of  Nabti  who  in  the  text  last 
treated  invokes  the  same  deities  in  behalf  of  the  prince.  The 
title  of  the  official  to  whom  it  is  addressed  is  mutilated,  and  is 
here  restored  in  accordance  with  the  traces  given  in  Harper'g 
copy  of  the  text,  which  is  published  in  his  Letters  of  the  K  Col- 
lection (No.  62).  It  is  a  courteous  expression  of  the  good  wishes 
of  the  writer  in  connection,  apparently,  with  some  matter  the 
nature  of  which  is  not  stated,  but  was  of  course  well  known  to 
the  recipient. 

TRANSLATION. 

To  the  Secretary  of  State,  my  lord,  thy  servant  Nabu-sum-iddina  ! 
(greeting  to  my  lord  ! 

May  Nabu  and  Marduk,  Istar  of  Nineveh,  Istar  of  Arbela,  bless  my 
lord  !  May  they  keep  thee  whole !  May  thy  heart  ever  be  of  good 
cheer  !  May  Bel  and  Nabu  establish  prosperity  in  the  homes  of  the 
people  of  Nineveh  and  prosperity  with  thee  also. 

ACCENTED     TRANSLITERATION. 

^  Ana  [dupsar]  mdti  '^beliia,  ardiXka  ^N^ahd-sum-iddina  ! 

^LiX  sulmu  ana  beliia  ! 

^Wabil  u  Marduk^  ^ Istar  sa  Ninua^  ''Istar  sa  ArhaHl  ^ana 
beliia  ^likruhH  !     ^'^ LusallimilJca  ! 

(Rev.)  ^Libbaka  '^ka'amdni  ^liX  tdba !  ^ Sulmu  ina  biti  ^ana 
nis^  ^sa  ina  Ninua^  ''u  sulmu  ^Issika  "^ Bel  u  JSFabU  ^^lipqidu  ! 

10. 

K  589. 

Isdi-Nabti  ("Nabti  is  my  foundation"),  an  Assyrian  official 
who  probably  flourished  in  the  reign  of  Esarhaddon  (681-668 
B.  c),  is  the  writer  of  four  letters  published  in  Harper's  collec- 
tion (Nos.  186-189).  In  one  of  them  (K  1048  ;  Harper,  No.  189), 
of  which  there  remains  only  the  formula*  of  greeting  and  the 
name  of  one  Asur-sezibani  ("  Asur  deliver  me "),  a  governor, 
about  whom  some  communication  apparently  followed,  he  styles 
himself,  "the  secretary  of  the  new  house."  Another  (K  113; 
Harper,  No.    186)'  contains  a  salutation  "to  the  guards  of  the 

^  Published  with  transliteration,  translation,  and  commentary  by  S. 
A.  Smith,  Keilschrifttexte  Asurbanipals,  iii.  pp.  18-21  (with  additional 
notes  by  Pinches,  pp.  91-93);  also  by  Delitzsch,  Beitrdge  zur  Assyr.,  ii. 
pp.  24-30. 


Vol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  157 

king,  my  lord,"  and  refers  chiefly  to  the  endeavor  of  a  certain 
Nadin-sum-ilu  ("  the  god  gives  a  name  ")  to  recruit  for  the  same 
corps  fifty  men,  formerly  under  the  command  of  his  father,  who 
met  his  death  "  in  the  land  of  the  enemy."  The  letter,  written 
at  Nineveh,  is  addressed  to  the  king,  who  would  seem  to  have 
been  at  the  time  in  the  neighborhood  of  Sippara.  The  second 
letter  (K  589;  Harper,  No.  187),  addressed  to  the  prince  (literally 
"the  son  of  the  king"),  who  may  have  been  Sardanapallus,  con- 
tains a  courtly  greeting,  and  conveys  the  assurance  of  the  good 
will  of  the  god  Nabti,  whose  oracle  he  had  doubtless  consulted. 
It  may  be  thus  rendered  : 

TRANSLATION. 

To  the  prince,  my  lord,  thy  servant  Isdi-Nabu !  A  hearty  greeting 
to  the  prince,  my  lord  !  May  Bel,  Nabu,  Belit  the  divine  queen  of 
Kidimuri,  and  Istar  of  Arbela  grant  health  of  mind  and  body,  life,  and 
happiness  to  the  prince,  my  lord  ! 

I  convey  the  gracious  messages  of  Nabu.  G-reeting  to  all  the  guard  1 
May  the  heart  of  the  prince,  my  lord,  be  of  good  cheer. 

ACCENTED     TRANSLITERATION. 

^Ana  mdr  sarri  heliia,  ^arduka  IMt-NabiX  ! 

^LiX  sulmu  ana  mdr  sarri  ^heliia  adannis  ! 

"Bel^  NahlX^  ''Belit  Htu  belit  Kidimuri^  ''Istar  sa  Arba'il  Hub 
Ubbi,  ^tUh  sire,  ^^lale  baldti   ^^ana  mdr  sarri  beliia  ^HiddiniX  ! 

(Rev.)  ^Rixdte  ^sa  NablX  ^ana  mdr  sarri  beliia  *usseMla. 
*  Sulmu  ana  mag^ardte  ^gabbul  Libbu  ''sa  mdr  sarri  beliia  HlX 
tdbsu  ! 

11. 

K  551. 

The  importance  attributed  to  omens,  and  the  great  attention 
paid  to  their  interpretation  by  the  Assyro-Babylonians,  is  attested 
by  the  very  large  number  of  tablets  dealing  with  the  subject 
found  in  the  ruined  temples  and  palaces  of  the  ancient  Mesopo- 
tamian  empires.^  These  texts,  which  would  seem  to  have  accu- 
mulated from  a  very  remote  period,  contain  explanations  of 
omens  derived  from  phenomena  of  every  description,  terrestrial 
as  well  as  celestial,  and  were  consulted  as  the  standard  authori- 
ties, whenever,  as  often  happened,  such  information  was  desired. 

The  astrologer  Nabti'a  doubtless  had  in  mind  a  passage  from 
one  of  these  tablets  when  he  wrote  the  letter  here  translated. 
At  precisely  what  period  this  votary  of  astral  science  lived  and 

^  Cf.  Alfred  Boissier,  Documents  assyriens  relatifs  aux presages,  Paris, 
1894  ff. 


158  Christopher  Johnston^  [1897. 

practiced  his  art,  it  is  impossible  to  say  with  certainty  ;  but  it 
was  in  all  probability  under  one  of  the  Sargonide  kings.  In  two 
observatory  reports  published  in  The  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of 
Western  Asia,  vol.  iii.  p.  51,  he  signs  his  name,  "Nabti'a  of  the 
City  of  Assur,"  the  ancient  capital  of  Assyria.  In  a  similar 
communication  (Harper,  No.  141=:K  481),  he  reports  that  an 
observation  had  been  made,  and  that  the  sun  and  moon  had  been 
visible  in  the  heavens  at  the  same  time. 

The  omen  to  be  derived  from  the  occurrence  mentioned  below 
was  doubtless  an  unfavorable  one,  since  otherwise  the  fox  would 
hardly  have  been  killed.  That  the  fox,  however,  was  not  invari- 
ably regarded  as  a  harbinger  of  evil  may  be  gathered  from  two 
passages  from  an  omen-text  relating  to  the  building  of  a  house, 
published  in  Pinches'  Texts  in  the  Bahylonia7i  Wedge-  Writing, 
p.  12.  The  first  (obv.  col.  i,  11.  30-33)  may  be  thus  rendered  : 
"  When  the  foundations  are  laid,  if  green  locusts  are  seen,  the 
foundations  will  go  to  ruin  and  the  house  will  not  be  constructed. 
If  black  locusts  are  seen,  the  owner  of  the  house  will  die  an 
untimely  death.  If  either  a  fox  or  locusts  (?)  are  seen,  the  house 
will  go  to  ruin.  If  dogs  and  swine  fight,  the  house  will  have  a 
claimant  (at  law)."  In  the  second  passage,  however,  the  appear- 
ance of  the  fox  was  regarded  as  a  good  omen,  since  we  read 
{ibid.  obv.  col.  2,  11.  1  ff.):  ''When  the  threshold  is  laid,  if  a  fox 
enters  the  house,  the  house  will  be  inhabited.  If  locusts  (?) 
enter  the  house,  the  house  will  go  to  ruins.  If  an  ox,  misfortune 
will  overtake  the  house.  If  a  horse,  the  wife  of  the  owner  will 
die.  If  an  ass,  the  son  of  the  owner  will  die,"  etc.  The  letter 
of  Nabti'a  (K  551;  Harper,  No.  142)  may  be  translated  as 
follows  : 

TRANSLATION. 

To  the  king,  my  lord,  thy  servant  Nabu'a  ! 

May  Nabu  and  Marduk  bless  the  king,  my  lord  ! 

On  the  seventh  day  of  the  month  Kislev  a  fox  entered  the  city,  and 
fell  into  a  well  in  the  grove  of  the  god  Asur.  They  got  him  out,  and 
killed  him. 

ACCENTED   TRANSLITERATION. 

^Ana  sarri  heliia  '^ard'dha  Ndbili^a  h 
^NabUb  Marduk  *ana  sarri  heliia  HihrubiX  ! 
'  tfmu  seb-iX  sa  arax  Kisilimi  ''selibu  ina  libbi  dli  ^etarba,  ^ina 
hiri  sa  A§ur  (Rev.)  Hna  biXri  ittuqut.     ^  UsseMni  HdUkU, 


12. 

K  565, 

Balasi,  the  author  of  six  letters  published  in  Harper's  work 
(Nos.  74-Y9),  all  relating  to  astrology,  divination,  and  kindred 
matters,  and  also  of  a  number  of  astrological  reports  (cf.,  e.  g. 


Vol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  159 

III  R  51,  no.  iv  ;  54,  no.  10;  58,  no.  12),  was  an  Assyrian 
priestly  astrologer  who  lived  in  the  reign  of  Esarhaddon  (681- 
668  B.  c).  He  was  therefore  a  contemporary  of  Arad-Ea,  Arad- 
Nana,  and  Nabti-sum-iddina,  examples  of  whose  correspondence 
are  given  in  this  paper,  Nos.  8,  13,  14  and  15. 

The  letter  of  Balasi  and  his  colleague  Nabti-akhe-erba  which  is 
selected  for  translation  here  is  evidently  in  answer  to  a  communi- 
cation from  the  king,  who  desired  to  be  informed  as  to  the  advis- 
ability of  a  journey  contemplated  for  his  son  Asur-mukin-pale'a, 
and  the  most  auspicious  occasion  for  setting  out  upon  it.  The 
answer  is  favorable  ;  the  journey  may  be  undertaken,  and  though 
the  second  of  the  month  will  do  very  well,  the  fourth  is  particu- 
larly recommended.  It  may  be  that  the  prince  was  in  ill  health, 
and  that  this  was  the  occasion  of  the  intended  journey.  The 
physician  Arad-Nana  mentions  Asur-mukin-pale'a  in  terms  which 
would  indicate  that  he  was  suffering  from  some  malady  (see  p. 
161).  This  text,  which  is  published  in  Harper's  Letters  (No.  77), 
may  be  translated  as  follows  : 

TRANSLATION. 

To  the  king,  our  lord,  thy  servants  Balasi  and  Nabu-akhe-erba  ! 
Greeting  to  the  king,  our  lord  !  May  Nabu  and  Marduk  bless  the  king, 
our  lord  ! 

As  for  Asur-mukin-pale'a,  about  whom  the  king,  our  lord,  has  sent 
to  us,  may  Asur,  Bel,  Nabu,  Sin,  Samas,  and  Ramman  bless  him  ! 

May  our  lord  the  king  behold  his  welfare. 

The  conditions  are  auspicious  for  the  journey.  The  second  of  the 
month  is  an  auspicious  day  ;  the  fourth,  extremely  auspicious. 

ACCENTED     TRANSLITERATION. 

^Ana  sarri  helini,  "^arddnika  ^Balasi  ^ NabiX-axe-erha  ! 

^LfX  sulmu  ^ana  sarri  helini  ! 

''NablX  Marduk  ^ana  sarri  helini  ^likruhlX  ! 

^^Ina  muxxi  Asur-mukin-paleia^  ^^sa  sarri  heluni  ^"^ispurandsini, 
*^Asur,  Bel^  Sin,  ^^ Samas,  Bammdn  ^HikrubHsu  !  (Rev.)  ^JSTi- 
melsu  ^sarru  heliini  Itmur  ! 

^  Tdba  *ana  aldki.  ^  tfmu  sanUb  tdha.  "  tfmu  rebU  adannis 
Hdba. 

13. 

K  10%U. 

Arad-Ea  ("  Servant  of  Ea"),  the  writer  of  K  1024,  was  a  priest 
and  astrologer  who  flourished  in  the  reign  of  Esarhaddon  (681- 
668  B.  c).  He  is  mentioned  as  exercising  priestly  functions  in  a 
letter  of  the  astrologer,  Marduk-sakiu-sum  ("  Merodach  appoints 


160  Christopher  Johnston^  [1897. 

a  name");  see  Harper,  No.  23=:K  602,  obv.  19;  and  his  name 
occurs  in  another  letter  of  the  same  writer,  in  which  the  prince 
(i.  e.  Sardanapallus)  and  his  brother  Samas-sum-ukin  are  also 
mentioned  (Harper,  No.  24  =  K  626,  obv.  5,  6,  no.  20).  He  also 
appears  (Harper,  No.  16  =  K  1428)  as  the  joint  author  of  an 
address  to  the  king  in  company  with  his  colleagues  Ramman- 
sum-uyur  ("  Ramman  protect  the  name"),  Istar-sum-eres  (*' Istar 
has  willed  a  name"),  and  Akkullanu,  all  of  whom  are  known 
to  have  lived  in  the  reign  of  Esarhaddon.  His  functions  are 
more  precisely  indicated  by  the  fact  that  he  is  the  author  of  a 
letter  to  the  king  on  religious  ceremonies  (K  1204)  and  of  an 
astrological  report  (K  1405).  He  is  doubtless  to  be  identified 
with  the  priest  bearing  the  same  name  who  appears  in  a  list  of 
officials  of  the  reign  of  Esarhaddon  [FSB A.,  May,  1889,  pi. 
iv.  col.  1,  29). 

In  Harper's  Letters,  four  letters  (Nos.  27-30)  are  published 
under  the  name  of  Arad-Ea,  but  the  last  of  these  (No.  30  =  K 
7426)  must  have  been  written  by  a  person  of  the  same  name  of 
an  earlier  date.  It  is  addressed  (obv.  2)  to  King  Sargon  (reigned 
722-705) ;  is  written  in  the  Babylonian,  while  the  other  three  are 
in  the  Assyrian  character  ;  and  differs  also  in  the  formula  of  greet- 
ing with  which  it  begins.  Of  the  remaining  three,  one  (No.  27  = 
K  1022)  is  entirely  lost  after  the  initial  complimentary  phrases, 
which  are  practically  identical  in  all  three,  and  another  (No.  29  = 
K  1204)  is  too  badly  damaged  to  admit  of  translation.  Of  the 
third  (No.  28 =K  1024),  the  last  line  of  the  obverse  and  the  first 
two  lines  of  the  reverse  are  almost  entirely  obliterated,  but  the 
sense,  if  not  the  exact  words,  of  what  has  been  lost  may  be  easily 
supplied  from  the  context.  The  letter  conveys  to  the  king,  who 
was  apparently  afflicted  with  some  illness,  the  assurance  that,  by 
the  will  of  the  gods,  he  will  certainly  recover  and  live  for  many 
years  to  come,  to  which  desirable  end  the  prayers  of  the  writer 
shall  not  be  wanting. 

TRANSLATION. 

To  the  king,  my  lord,  thy  servant  Arad-Ea  !  Grreeting  to  my  lord 
the  king  !  May  Nabu,  Marduk,  Sin,  Ningal,  (and)  Nusku  bless  the 
king,  my  lord  ! 

Sin,  NingaU shall  grant  life,  and  length  (of  days)  to  the  king, 

my  lord.    I  pray  day  and  night  for  my  lord's  life. 

ACCENTED     TRANSLITEBATION. 

^Ana  sarri  heliia  "^ardiiha  Arad-Ea  ! 

"^LiX  hilmu  *ana  sarri  beliia  ! 

^Na'blX,  Marduk,  Sin,  ^Nin-gdl,  Nusku  ''ana  sarri  heliiaHikrubiX ! 

^  The  text  is  obliterated,  but  the  names  of  other  gods  doubtless 
followed  here. 


Vol.  xviii.J  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature,  161 

''Sin,  Nin-gal " (Rev.)  ' \haldt\  ""napisti 

\sa  Hme'l  ^rilqUti  *ana  sarri  heliia  ^iddanH. 

^Andku  Umi  mHsu  Hna  muxxi  napsdte  ^sa  heliia  ^u^alld. 

14. 

According  to  the  statement  of  Herodotus  (i.  19*7),  the  Babylo- 
nians did  not  employ  physicians,  but  brought  their  sick  to  the 
market-place  in  order  to  receive  the  advice  of  such  persons  as 
might  be  able  to  suggest  a  remedy  derived  from  their  personal 
experience  or  from  that  of  their  friends.  The  statement  is 
entirely  erroneous.  The  fact  that  physicians  existed  and  were 
held  in  high  esteem  both  in  Assyria  and  Babylonia  is  abundantly 
attested  by  the  cuneiform  inscriptions.  They  belonged  to  the 
priestly  class,  and  in  their  practice  combined  magic  with  more 
rational  methods. 

It  was  the  belief  that  sickness  was  due  to  the  agency  of  demons 
or  evil  spirits,  which  invaded  the  body  of  an  individual  and  pro- 
duced all  manner  of  diseases.  A  large  number  of  charms  and 
incantations  have  been  found,  having  for  their  object  the  expul- 
sion of  the  malevolent  spirits  and  the  restoration  of  the  sufferer. 
Most  of  these  charms  are  fantastic  in  the  extreme,  but  occasion- 
ally the  magical  formula  veils  a  really  sensible  prescription.  For 
example,  in  the  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia,  vol.  iv. 
p.  29*  (4C,  col.  ii,  rev.  II.  6-8),  is  a  charm  for  the  cure  of  a  disease 
of  the  eyes,  which  directs  the  application  of  crushed  palm-bark ; 
and  it  is  immediately  followed  (II.  10-26)  by  another,  in  which 
ground  bark  is  recommended  as  a  remedy  for  the  same  affection. 
In  both  these  cases  it  is  evident  that  the  virtue  of  the  charm  lies 
in  the  astringent  application  recommended  ;  it  is,  in  fact,  a  meas- 
ure very  similar  to  the  use  of  tea-leaves,  a  well  known  household 
remedy  frequently  resorted  to  in  cases  of  inflamed  eyes. 

Among  the  epistolary  tablets  are  a  few  letters  from  physicians, 
and  from  these  also  it  may  be  gathered  that  these  ancient  prac- 
titioners did  not  entirely  depend  upon  magic  arts,  as  may  be  seen 
from  the  two  examples  here  presented.  The  writer,  in  both  cases, 
is  Arad-Nana  ("Servant  of  IsTana"),  who  flourished  in  the  reign 
of  Esarhaddon  (681-668  b.  c),  and  was  probably  court  physician 
of  that  monarch.  Four  of  his  letters  are  published  in  Harper's 
work  (No.  108-111.)  In  one  of  these  (K  532,  obv.  8,  rev.  11)  he 
refers  to  Asur-mukin-pale'a  ("Asur  establishes  my  reign"),  a 
younger  son  of  Esarhaddon  and  brother  of  Sardanapallus,  and 
assures  the  king  that  he  need  be  under  no  apprehension  (obv.  1 1) 
as  to  the  health  of  the  prince,  who  seems  to  have  been  under  his 
professional  care.  In  another  (K  576)  he  directs  the  king  to 
anoint  himself  as  a  precaution  against  draughts,  to  drink  pure 
water,  and  to  wash  his  hands  frequently  in  a  bowl  (rev.  4-10). 

VOL.  XVIII.  11 


162  Christopher  Johnston,  [1897. 

The  letter  which  follows  is  published,  with  translation,  translit- 
eration, and  commentary,  by  S.  A.  Smith  in  his  Keilschrifttexte 
Asurhanipals  (ii.  58-63).^  Mr.  Smith  considers  that  the  disease 
was  hardly  a  natural  one,  but  that  the  patient  had  received  one, 
or  perhaps  several  wounds,  one  of  which,  affecting  the  head,  was 
likely  to  prove  mortal  (p.  68).  The  original,  however,  contains 
no  mention  of  a  wound,  nor  does  Arad-Nana  seem  to  have  any 
apprehension  as  to  the  result.  The  case,  in  fact,  would  rather 
seem  to  have  been  one  of  opththalmia  or,  more  probably,  facial 
erysipelas,"  which,  however,  was  taking  a  favorable  course — so 
favorable  indeed  that  Arad-Nana  feels  compelled  to  attribute  it 
to  the  special  interposition  of  some  god  who  had  interested  him- 
self in  the  matter.  The  prognosis  is  therefore  excellent,  and  the 
complete  recovery  of  the  patient  may  be  expected  in  the  course 
of  seven  or  eight  days.  The  invocation  to  the  deities  Adar  and 
Gula  in  the  formula  of  salutation,  is  usually  found  in  letters 
written  by  physicians,  these  divinities  being  the  special  patrons 
of  the  healing  art.     The  letter  may  be  translated  as  follows  : 

TRANSLATION. 

To  the  king,  my  lord,  thy  servant  Arad-Nana  !  A  hearty  greeting  to 
my  lord  the  king  !  May  the  deities  Adar  and  Grula  grant  health  of 
mind  and  body  to  my  lord  the  king  ! 

All  goes  well  in  regard  to  that  poor  fellow  whose  eyes  are  diseased. 
I  had  applied  a  dressing  covering  his  face.  Yesterday,  towards  even- 
ing, undoing  the  bandage  which  held  it  (in  place),  I  removed  the  dress- 
ing. There  was  pus  upon  the  dressing  the  size  of  the  tip  of  the  little 
finger.  If  any  of  thy  gods  has  put  his  hand  to  the  matter,  that  (god) 
must  surely  have  given  express  commands.^  All  is  well.  Let  the 
heart  of  my  lord  the  king  be  of  good  cheer !  Within  seven  or  eight 
days  he  will  be  well. 

ACCENTED     TRANSLITERATION. 

^Ana  sarri  heliia  "^ard^ika  Arad-Nand  I 

^LlX  mlmu  adannis  adannis  *ana  sarri  heliia  ! 

^Adar  u  Gula  ^tiXb  libhi,  t4b  sire  ''ana  sarri  heliia  liddiniX  ! 

^Suhnu  adannis  ^ana  laklX  ^^sikru  xannihc,  ^^sa  kUri  indsu. 
'^^Talitu  ina  muxxi  ^^urtahkis,  ina  appisu  ^^irtumu.  ^^Ina  timdli, 
(Rev.)  ^'^ki  hddl,  "sirtti  sa  ina  lihbi  ^^cdbituni  aptatar,  ^^talitu  sa 


^  Translated  also  by  the  present  writer  in  Johns  Hopkins  Circulars, 
No.  114  (July,  1894),  p.  119. 

2  Cf.  Dr.  M.  Bartels'  paper  on  te^u  in  the  Zeitsehrift  fiir  Assyriologie, 
viii.  p.  179.  According  to  Dr.  Bartels,  murug  qaqqadi  ("  the  disease  of 
the  head  ")  or  fe^u  is  the  Assyrian  name  of  erysipelas. 

^  I.  e.  to  bring  about  so  desirable  a  result. 


Vol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  163 

i7ia  muxxi  ^°ut4li.  Sarku  "ina  muxxi  taliti  "hdst  ammar  qaqqad 
'^*ubdni  pixirti. 

^^Ildnika,  summa  memeni  ^^iddsu  ina  lihhi  "^^ummiduni — Mtu- 
ma  ^''pisu  ittedin. 

""^Sulmu  adannis.  ""^Libhu  sa  sarri  beliia  ^H4  tdha  !  (Edge) 
*^A  dU  'dme  vii  viii  ibdlat. 

15 

K  519. 

The  following  letter,  K  519,  also  from  Arad-Nana  to  his  royal 
patron  Esarhaddon,  is  published  in  Harper's  Letters,  No.  108.  In 
11.  9-14  of  the  obverse  the  context  is  so  interrupted  and  obscured 
by  mutilation  of  the  text  that  it  has  seemed  advisable  to  make  no 
attempt  at  translation,  and  these  lines  are  accordingly  omitted. 
The  reverse,  which  contains  all  that  is  interesting  from  a  medical 
point  of  view,  relates  to  a  patient  suffering  from  severe  epistaxis. 
External  compresses  seem  to  have  been  applied,  which  are  char- 
acterized as  unscientific  appliances,  serving  only  to  interfere  with 
the  patient's  breathing,  and  valueless  as  a  means  of  checking  the 
hemorrhage.  Plugging  the  nares  is  the  proper  mode  of  treat- 
ment, in  the  opinion  of  Arad-Nana,  whose  letter  may  be  rendered 
as  follows  : 

TRANSLATION. 

To  the  king,  my  lord,  thy  servant,  Arad-Nana  !  Grreeting  most 
heartily  to  my  lord  the  king  !  May  Adar  and  Grula  grant  health  of 
mind  and  body  to  my  lord  the  king.  A  hearty  greeting  to  the  son  of 
the  king ^ 

With  regard  to  the  patient  who  has  a  bleeding  from  his  nose ,  the 
Rab-MUGi^  reports :  "  Yesterday,  towards  evening,  there  was  much 
hemorrhage."  Those  dressings  are  not  scientifically  applied.  They 
are  placed  upon  the  alas  of  the  nose,  oppress  the  breathing,  and  come 
off  when  there  is  hemorrhage.  Let  them  be  placed  within  the  nostrils, 
and  then  the  air  will  be  kept  away  and  the  hemorrhage  restrained.  If 
it  is  agreeable  to  my  lord,  the  king,  I  will  go  to-morrow  and  give 
instructions  ;  (meantime)  let  me  hear  how  he  does. 

ACCENTED   TEANSLITERATION. 

^Ana  sarri  beliia  '^ard'dha  Arad-Nand  ! 

^LiX  sulmu  adannis  adannis  ^ana  sarri  beliia  ! 

Adar  hi  Gula  tUb  libbi,  ^tdb  sire  ana  sarri  beliia  "'liddinU  ! 

Sulmu  adannis  ^ana  mdr  sarri  I 


'  Obverse  11.  9-14  are  here  omitted. 
2  An  official  title. 


164  Christopher  Johnston,  [1897» 

Dullu    ^sa    ana nipiis4ni    ^^niddinuni  parap    haspu, 

tfmu  sa  ^^ittallak  ixteridi  ^"^uktil  iddte  ^^ittusih  aki  ^^umtal 

(Rev.)  ^hia  muxxi  mar^i  "^sa  dame  sa  appisu  ^illalcdni,  rab-mugi 
*iqtehUa,  md:  ^^Hna  titndli,  ki  hddi^^ddmu  ma'adu  '' ittalkU,'*'' — 
lippe  ^ammiXte  ina  Id  mUddniXte  "^ibdsVu.  Ina  muxxi  ^"^naxnaxete 
sa  appi  ^^ummudil,  naxnaxUtu  ^^utd'ub'd,  istu  pdni  ^^ddme  'dgiXni. 
"jPi  naxire   ^Hiskuwd^  sdru   ^^ikkasir,  ^''ddme   ikkalihi.     (Edge) 

^^Summa  pdn  sarri  maxir,  ana  seri  ^^ ina  libbi  lusaxkim. 

TImd  sulmu  lasme. 

16. 

K  50J^. 

According  to  tlie  Book  of  Daniel  (Chap.  2),  Nebuchadnezzar 
placed  the  Babylonian  sages  in  a  most  embarrassing  predicament 
by  requiring  them  to  describe  to  him  a  dream  which  he  had  for- 
gotten, alleging  that  their  boasted  science,  if  a  reality,  ought  to 
be  equal  to  the  task,  not  only  of  furnishing  an  explanation  in 
cases  where  the  facts  were  known,  but  also  of  discovering  the 
facts  themselves  without  the  aid  of  previous  information.  It  is 
hardly  likely  that  the  two  Assyrian  physicians  mentioned  in  the 
following  letter  were  confronted  with  so  difficult  a  problem  as 
their  Babylonian  confreres  of  a  later  date,  although  in  withhold- 
ing from  them  all  previous  information  in  regard  to  the  matter 
about  which  they  were  to  be  consulted,  the  king  may  have 
wished  to  apply  a  somewhat  similar  test  to  their  science,  and  to 
secure  from  them  a  perfectly  independent  and  unbiased  opinion. 

Istar-dtirt  ("Istar  is  my  wall"),  in  whose  communication  to  the 
king  they  are  mentioned,  appears  in  Harper's  work  as  the  author 
of  eight  letters.  All  of  them,  except  the  one  here  translated, 
are  either  badly  mutilated  or  merely  fragmentary,  but  from  what 
remains  the  personality  of  the  writer  can  be  established  with 
very  little  doubt.  In  one  (Harper,  No.  159=K  1025)  he  men- 
tions (11.  4-5)  "the  cavalry  of  Nibe."  From  the  inscriptions  of 
Sargon  we  learn  that,  on  the  death  of  Dalta,  king  of  Ellip,  a 
country  lying  immediately  north  of  Elam,  his  two  sons,  Nibe  and 
Ispabarra,  went  to  war  with  one  another  about  the  succession  to 
the  throne.  The  former  allied  himself  with  the  king  of  Elam^ 
the  latter  appealed  for  aid  to  Sargon.  Accordingly,  in  the  year 
708  B.  c,  an  Assyrian  army  invaded  Ellip,  defeated  Nibe  and  his 
Elamite  allies,  and  placed  Ispabarra  on  the  throne  (Sargon, 
Annals,  402-411  ;  Khorsabad,  117-121).  It  was  doubtless  this 
Nibe  who  is  mentioned  by  Istar-dtiri. 

In  another  letter  (Harper,  No.  158=K  530),  the  name  of  Mero- 
dach-baladan  occurs  (obv.  22);  and  though  the  context  is  com- 
pletely obliterated,  it  is  probable  at  least  that  this  was  the  Chal- 
dean prince  who  made  himself  king  of  Babylon  in  721  b.  c,  but 


Vol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  165 

was  expelled  by  Sargon  in  VIO,  and  took  refuge  in  Elam — the 
same  Merodach-baladan  whose  message  to  king  Hezekiah  is 
related  in  Isaiah  xxxix.  Nabti-zer-ibni  (''ISrabti  has  created 
offspring"),  chief  of  Ru'a,  is  mentioned  in  the  same  letter  (obv. 
4),  and  the  people  of  Ru'a  were  one  of  the  Aramean  tribes  who 
surrendered  to  Sargon  in  712  b.  c,  and  were  joined  to  the  new 
province  of  Gambiilu  [Annals^  264-271  ;  Winckler,  Keifschrift- 
texte  Saryons,  i.  p.  xxxiv).  In  the  letter  here  translated,  mention 
is  made  of  Samas-bel-u9ur  ("Samas  protect  my  lord"),  who  sends 
a  communication  from  Der;  and  a  Samas-bel-u9ur,  who  may  well 
have  been  the  same  person,  was  eponym  in  the  year  710  b.  c.  (I^. 
B.,  i.  p.  205)/ 

All  these  circumstances  point  to  the  reign  of  Sargon  (722- 
705  B.  c.)  as  the  period  in  which  Istar-dtiri  flourished,  and,  as  an 
Istar-dtiri  was  eponym  in  the  year  714  (K.  J5.,  i.  p.  205),  we  shall 
probably  not  be  far  wrong  if  we  conclude  that  the  writer  of  the 
letters  and  the  eponym  were  one  and  the  same  person.  This 
identification  was  also  proposed  by  the  late  Geo.  Smith,  who 
states  in  his  Assyria?!  Eponym  Canon  (p.  85),  under  the  year 
714  B.  c:  *' Istar-duri,  the  eponym  of  this  year,  sent  the  two 
Tablets  K  1068  and  504." 

The  former  (K  1068),  as  yet  unpublished,  is,  according  to 
Bezold's  Catalogue,  a  letter  to  the  king  about  astrological  fore- 
casts ;  the  latter  (K  504)  is  the  letter  which  forms  the  subject  of 
this  number.  It  is  published  in  Harper's  Letters,  No.  157,  and 
also,  with  transliteration,  translation,  and  commentary,  by  S.  A. 
Smith  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology, 
X.  pp.  168  ff.  The  version  here  given  is  offered  as  a  substitute 
for  that  of  Mr.  Smith. 

The  city  of  Der,  for  whose  temples  copies  of  inscriptions  are 
requested,  was  a  seat  of  the  worship  of  the  god  Ann,  and  was 
situated  towards  the  Babylonian  and  Elamite  frontier,  in  the  dis- 
trict lying  between  the  lower  course  of  the  Tigris  and  the  Median 
mountains  (Mtirdter-Delitzsch,  Gesch.  BabyL-Assyr.,  p.  175).  It 
must  have   contained  a  sanctuary  of  some  celebrity,  since  the 

^  The  following  texts  bearing  upon  Samas-bel-uQur  and  the  city  of 
Der  are  registered  in  Bezold's  Catalogue  of  the  K  Collection:— K  5193. 
A  letter  to  the  king  ;  mentions  the  king  of  Elam,  and  the  cities  Der, 
Mandiri'a,  and  Khalgu. — K  6122.  A  letter  to  the  king  ;  mentions  the 
king  of  Elam,  the  city  of  Der,  etc.— K  7297.  A  letter  to  the  king ; 
mentions  Samas-bel-ugur.— K  7299.  A  letter  to  the  king  from  Samas- 
bel-uQur  ;  reports  the  entry  of  the  king  of  Elam  into  the  Elamite  city  of 
Bit-Bunaki,  etc.  ;  mentions  the  cities  of  Der  and  Khalgu. — K  7325.  A 
letter  to  the  king ;  mentions  Samas-bel-ugur,  Marduk-sallima,  and  the 
city  of  KhalQU — K  7424.  A  letter  to  the  king  from  Samas-bel-ugur ; 
mentions  the  king  of  Elam  and  the  cities  of  Der  and  Khalgu. — K  8535. 
A  letter  to  the  king  from  Samas-bel-ugur  ;  mentions  Balasu . 

A  letter  to  the  king  from  Samas-bel-ugur,  published  by  Harper  in 
Zeitschrift  fur  Assyr.,  viii.  p.  343,  mentions  neither  Istar-duri  nor  the 
oity  of  Der. 


166  Christopher  Johnston,  [1897. 

annotated  Eponym  List  records  that  in  the  years  815  and  785 
B.  c.  "  the  great  god  went  to  Der,"  which  means  that  his  image 
was  carried  thither  in  solemn  procession.  It  is  possible  that,  as 
was  conjectured  by  the  late  Geo.  Smith,  Der  is  to  be  identified 
with  the  city  of  Dtir-ili,  often  mentioned  in  the  inscriptions^ 
(See  Beitr.  zur  Assyr.,  iii.  p.  238,  42  ;  282,  42).  For  references 
to  the  city  in  connection  with  Elam,  see  the  note  on  Samas-bel- 
U9ur  above.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  site  of  this  city  may  yet 
be  discovered,  and  the  inscriptions  mentioned  in  the  text  brought 
to  light. 

TRANSLATION. 

To  the  king,  my  lord,  thy  servant  Istar-duri  !  Greeting  to  the  king,, 
my  lord  ! 

T  send  forthwith  to  my  lord  the  king,  in  company  with  my  messenger, 
the  physicians  Nabu-sum-iddina  and  Nabu-erba,  of  whom  I  spoke  to 
the  king,  my  lord.  Let  them  be  admitted  to  the  presence  of  the  king, 
my  lord,  and  let  the  king,  my  lord,  converse  with  them.  I  have  not 
disclosed  (to  them)  the  true  facts,  but  have  told  them  nothing.^  As 
the  king,  my  lord,  commands,  (so)  has  it  been  done. 

Samas-bel-u§ur  sends  word  from  Der :  "  We  have  no  inscriptions  to 
place  upon  the  temple  walls."  I  send,  therefore,  to  the  king,  my  lord, 
(to  ask)  that  one  inscription  be  written  out  and  sent  immediately,  (and 
that)  the  rest  be  speedily  written,  so  that  they  may  place  them  upon 
the  temple  walls. 

There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  rain,  (but)  the  harvest  is  gathered. 
May  the  heart  of  the  king,  my  lord,  be  of  good  cheer  ! 

ACCENTED     TEANSLITERATION. 

^Ana  sarri  heliia  ^arduka  Istar-cMri  ! 

^LlX  sulmu  ana  sarri  heliia  ! 

^Ina  muxxi  Nahu-sum-iddina  ^ NablX-erha^  dse  ^sa  a7ia  sarri 
heliia  ''aqhiini,  amiilsim  *[^^^^■?]  apil-siprVa  ina  pdn  ^sarri  heliiM 
assaprasunu,  ^^Ina  pdn  sarri  heliia  ^HiruhiX^  sarru  hell  ^^issisunu 
lidhuhu.  ^^Kettu  andku  "Id  uharri,  ^^Id  aqahdsunu.  ^^Bid  sarru 
hell  isdpar  sakfimii. 

^'' Samas-hel-npur  ^istu  dlJDeri  issapra  ^^md :  '•''  Massardni  (Edge) 
^^lassu,  ina  lihbi  igardte.  (Rev.)  ^sa  bit-ili  Id  nisku7iy  ^  Umd 
ana  sarri  heliia  ^assapra,  isten  mussarlX  '^listurll  lusebililni,  ^ina 
pitti  rix4ti  HisturU,  ina  lihbi  igardte  ''sa  hit-ili  lishunlX. 

^Zunne  md'add  ^adannis  ittdlak.  ^°Ehdre  deqi.  ^^Lihhi  sa 
sarri  heliia  ^HH  tdbn. 

^  Literally,  "I  have  not  disclosed  the  truth,  not  telling  them"  (cir- 
cumstantial clause). 


Vol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  167 

17. 

K  660. 

From  a  very  early  period  the  vine  was  successfully  cultivated 
in  Assyria,  and  the  reports  of  modern  travellers  amply  prove 
that  the  Rabshak  of  Sennacherib  made  no  vain  boast  when  he 
described  his  country  to  the  Jews  besieged  within  the  walls  of 
Jerusalem  as  ''a  land  of  corn  and  wine,  a  land  of  bread  and  vine- 
yards, a  land  of  olive  trees  and  honey  "  (2  Kings  xviii.  32  ;  Isa. 
xxxvi.  17).  Wine  is  frequently  mentioned  in  the  cuneiform 
inscriptions  of  Assyria  and  Babylonia,  and  was  extensively  used 
both  for  convivial  purposes  and  in  connection  with  religious  cer- 
emonies. Asur-na9ir-pal  (reigned  885-860  b.  c),  for  example, 
makes  offerings  of  wine  and  fruit  to  the  god  Asur  and  to  the 
temples  of  his  land,  to  celebrate  the  rebuilding  of  the  city  of 
Calah  (Asurn.,  iii.  135).  Sennacherib  (r.  705-681  b.  c),  imposes 
upon  the  conquered  Khirirarae,  an  Aramean  tribe  of  Babylonia, 
the  payment  of  a  tribute  of  wine  to  the  gods  of  Assyria  (Prism^ 
i.  61).  Nebuchadnezzar  (r.  604-561  b.  c),  the  great  Babylonian 
monarch  who  sacked  Jerusalem  and  led  away  its  inhabitants  into 
captivity,  offers  annual  apportionments  of  wine  to  his  national 
gods  (cf.,  e.  g.,  Nehuch.  Grotefend,  ii.  32 ;  iii.  15).  And  these 
are  merely  a  few  of  the  many  instances  that  could  be  cited. 

The  ceremonial  use  of  wine  is  depicted  in  sculpture,  and  fre- 
quently mentioned  in  the  historical  and  in  the  religious  texts. 
Thus,  the  liturgical  text,  K  164,  referred  to  above,  p.  154,  directs, 
among  other  observances,  the  sprinkling  of  wine  upon  the  couch 
of  the  god,  and  the  pouring  out  of  a  libation  upon  the  ground 
before  it ;  Nabonidus,  the  last  native  king  of  Babylon  (r.  555- 
538  B.  c.)  sprinkles  with  mead,  wine,  oil,  and  honey  the  temple 
of  the  Moon-god  in  Harran  (V  R  64,  col.  ii,  5);  and  in  a  sculp- 
ture from  Nineveh,  Sardanapallus  (r.  668-626  b.  c.)  is  represented 
in  the  act  of  pouring  out  a  libation  over  the  bodies  of  four 
lions  that  he  has  slain  (Place,  JSfinive  et  V  Assyrie,  PI.  57;  IR  7; 
cf.  the  frontispiece  in  Hommel's  Jagdinschriften). 

A  reference  to  the  use  of  wine  on  festal  occasions  is  to  be 
found  in  the  fine  address  of  the  goddess  Istar  to  king  Sarda- 
napallus (Smith,  Asifrb.,  p.  65,  11.  65-67),  when,  assuring  him  of 
her  aid  and  protection  against  his  enemy  Teumman,  king  of 
Elam,  she  bids  him,  "  eat  food,  drink  wine,  make  music,  while  I 
go  and  accomplish  this  affair";  and  the  same  Assyrian  monarch 
is  depicted  in  a  beautiful  sculpture  (Place,  ibid.;  cf.  Miirdter- 
Delitzsch^,  p.  139),  seated,  in  company  with  his  queen,  under  an 
arbor  of  grape-vines  heavy  with  luscious  clusters,  surrounded  by 
attendants,  drinking  wine  from  a  richly  chased  goblet. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  in  this  connection  that  among  the  ten 
varieties  of  wine  enumerated  in  a  list  published  in  the  Cuneiform 
Inscriptions  of  Western  Asia  (ii.  44,  9-13),  occurs  the  wine  of 
Helbon,  which  is  also  mentioned  by  Ezekiel  (xxvii.  18),^  and  that 

1  Cf.  Cornill  (p.  351)  and  Toy  ad  loo. 


168  Christopher  Johnston,  [1897. 

the  same  locality — the  village  of  Khalbun,  about  nine  miles  north 
of  Damascus — is  noted  for  its  vintage  to  the  present  day.  The 
"receipt"  of  wine  for  the  month  of  Tebet  (January-February), 
spoken  of  in  the  following  letter,  was  probably  the  produce  of 
the  royal  vinej^ards  for  the  preceding  autumn,  which,  having 
undergone  the  necessary  amount  of  fermentation  and  prepara- 
tion, was  now  ready  to  be  put  up  in  leather  bottles  or  casks,^  and 
stored  away  for  use.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  reference  is 
had  to  a  tax  or  tribute  of  wine,  delivered  in  the  month  of  Tebet. 
Of  Babila,  who  with  Bel-iqisa  and  another  person  whose  name 
is  obliterated,  addresses  the  letter  to  the  king,  I  am  unable  to  give 
any  information  beyond  the  fact  that  his  name  means  "  the  Baby- 
lonian," or  rather  *' devoted  to  (the  god  of)  Babylon" — a  name 
like  Arba'ila,  "devoted  to  (Istar  of)  Arbela,"  Marduka  (Mordecai), 
"devoted  to  Merodach,"  etc. 

To  Bel-iqlsa  are  ascribed  two  other  letters  published  in  Har- 
per's work  (No.  84  =  K  117,  and  No.  85=K  613).  In  the  former 
the  writer  complains  that,  having  addressed  some  remonstrances 
to  the  secretary  of  the  palace,  that  official  had  made  use  of  very 
energetic  language  to  him,  and  had  removed  him  from  his  post 
in  the  palace  to  another  situation  much  less  desirable.  The 
second  refers  to  three  officers  who  have  been  promoted  by  the 
king,  but  whom  their  present  commander  refuses  to  release  from 
his  service  that  they  may  assume  their  new  positions.  Both  these 
letters  evidently  proceed  from  the  same  person,  and  stamp  the 
writer  as  what  in  American  colloquial  language  would  be  termed 
"  a  kicker."  Whether  he  was  identical,  however,  with  the  Bel- 
iqisa  of  the  present  letter  is  not  so  certain.  Several  persons  of 
this  name  occur  in  the  epistolary  texts,  and  any  attempt  at  closer 
identification  seems  hazardous  in  this  case.  We  need  have  little 
hesitation,  however,  in  assuming  that  the  communication  was 
addressed  to  one  of  the  Sargonide  kings  of  Assyria.  This  letter, 
which  is  published  in  Harper's  work  (No.  86),  conveys  the  infor- 
mation that  the  quantity  oi'  wine  received  in  the  month  of  Tebet 
is  so  great  that  the  places  of  storage  provided  are  entirely  inad- 
equate to  contain  it.  It  is  therefore  proposed  to  deposit  it  in  the 
royal  store-houses,  which  usually  contained,  we  may  suppose, 
only  such  wine  as  was  specially  selected  and  set  apart  for  the 
king's  private  stock. 

TRANSLATION. 

To  the  king,  our  lord,  thy  servants ,2  Bel-iqisa,  and  Babila  ! 

G-reeting  to  our  lord  the  king  !     May  Asur, ,  Bel,  and  Nabu 

grant  length  of  days  for  never-ending  years  to  our  lord  the  king  ! 


'  I  prefer  the  former,  and  have  so  rendered,  for  reasons  which  will 
be  given  in  the  notes  in  Part  II.  Cf .  meanwhile  Delitzsch,  Handwor- 
terbuch,  p.  354a. 

■^  A  name  has  been  obliterated  here. 


Yol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  169 

The  king,  our  lord,  shall  decide.^  Since  the  receipt  for  the  month 
Tebet  is  bottled,^  and  there  are  no  places  of  shelter  (for  it),  we  would 
(wish  to)  put  it  into  the  royal  store-houses  for  wine.  Let  our  lord  the 
king  pass  an  order  that  the  (proper  store-)houses  may  be  indicated  to 
us,  and  we  shall  be  relieved  of  embarrassment.^  The  wine  of  our  lord 
the  king  is  of  great  quantity  ;  where  shall  we  put  it  ? 

ACCENTED    TKANSLITERATION. 

^Ana  sarri  belinif  ^arddnika ^Bel-iqisa,  *JBdMld  / 

^LiX  sulmu  ana  sarri  '^belini  / 

Asur,  il ^Bely  NahiX  Hme  *arkilte  sandte  *ddrdte  ana 

sarri  ^^helini  liddiniX  ! 

^^Sarru  belini  "'ddd.  Ki  ^^naxxartu  sa  arax  Tebiti  ^^harma- 
timiy  "w  ^illdte  (Rev.)  HasM,  bitdte-hardni  ^sa  sarri  belini  nisd- 
kanuni.  ^Sarru  belini  liqdbt^  *bitdte  lukallim'dndsi,  re[m*?]* 
^nissi.     ^Kardnu  sa  sarri  ''ma'ada^  dJca  ^niskun  ? 


18. 

K  515. 

From  the  earliest  historical  times  to  the  present  day,  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  Tigris  and  the  Euphrates  has  been  conducted  in  essen- 
tially the  same  manner.  The  round,  shallow  vessels  of  plaited 
willow  described  by  Herodotus  (i.  194)  are  represented  in  the 
Assyrian  sculptures,  and  are  practically  identical  with  the  modern 
ki(fa  which  eastern  travellers  describe  as  being  in  common  use 
upon  both  rivers.  The  kelek  or  raft  v^ith  a  frame  work  of 
w^ood  supported  by  inflated  skins,  is  also  depicted  in  the  sculp- 
tures, and  is  still  extensively  used,  especially  between  Mosul 
and  Bagdad.  Starting  wdth  its  freight  from  the  former  place,  it 
floats  down  the  rapid  current  of  the  Tigris,  and  on  reaching  its 
destination  is  broken  up,  the  timber  is  sold,  and  the  skins  con- 
veyed by  camels  or  asses  back  to  Mosul.  Representations  of 
ancient  and  modern  keleks,  and  of  the  process  of  inflating  the 
skins,  may  be  seen  in  Place's  Ninive  et  V  Assyrie,  PI.  43  ;  (cf. 
Kaulen,  Assyr.  und  BabyVy  p.  9)  and  an  interesting  account  of 


^  I.  e.  whether  it  is  proper  that  our  intention  shall  be  carried  out. 

2 1,  e.  in  leather  bottles. 

'  Literally,  "  hold  up  our  heads";  nissi  is  cohortative,  as  also  niskun 
<1.  8);  cf.  Del.,  Assyr.  Gram.  §  145. 

*  Dr.  Harper  gives  some  traces  which  suggest  the  character  si,  but 
might  also  lend  themselves  to  is.  ni  seems  to  liave  been  omitted  by  the 
scribe,  owing  to  the  following  preformative  ni. 


170  Christopher  Johnston^  [1897, 

these  rafts  is  given  in  Layard's  work,  Nineveh  and  its  Remains 
(i.  ch.  13  ;  ii.  ch.  5)/ 

But,  though  extensively  employed,  as  being  well  adapted  to 
the  Tigris,  whose  swift  current  offered  a  natural  obstacle  to  up- 
stream navigation,  such  clumsy  rafts  were  by  no  means  the 
only  vessels  with  which  the  ancient  Assj^rians  were  acquainted. 
"Although,"  says  Layard  (op,  cit.,  ii.  ch.  5),  ''the  Assyrians 
were  properly  an  inland  people,  yet  their  conquests  and  expedi- 
tions, particularly  at  a  later  period,  brought  them  into  contact 
with  maritime  nations.  We  consequently  find,  on  the  monu- 
ments of  Khorsabad  and  Kouyunjik,  frequent  representations  of 
naval  engagements  and  operations  on  the  sea-coast."  Several 
illustrations  of  ancient  vessels  are  to  be  found  in  the  same  work 
(ii.  ch.  2  and  5).  One  of  these,  propelled  by  four  oars  on  a  side, 
has  a  single  mast,  at  the  top  of  which  is  a  crow's  nest,  apparently 
for  an  archer  or  look-out.  The  mast  is  supported  by  fore  and 
back-stays.  Both  prow  and  stern  are  very  high,  the  former  hav- 
ing the  form  of  a  horse's  head,  the  latter  that  of  the  tail  of  a  fish. 
In  Place's  Isfini^^e  et  V  Assyrie,  PI.  oO"^^^,  a  vessel  of  similar  shape 
is  represented  following  along  the  shore  and  picking  up  lions, 
which  are  driven  by  hunters  from  the  brake  into  the  water. 
This  boat  has  two  banks  of  oars,  fifteen  on  each  side,  but  no  mast. 
Layard's  Monume^its  of  Nineveh  presents  (PI.  71)  illustrations  of 
a  number  of  vessels,  evidently  war-ships,  having  two  banks  of 
oars,  and  shields  hanging  along  the  bulwarks.  Five  have  sheer 
prows  and  sharp  beaks  for  ramming,  and  these  have  also  a  mast, 
a  single  yard,  fore  and  back-stays,  braces,  and  halliards.  Ships 
are  also  frequently  mentioned  in  the  inscriptions,  and  an  interest- 
ing text  (K  4378)  published  in  Delitzsch's  Lesestilcke^  (pp.  86-90) 
contains  an  enumeration  of  different  sorts  of  vessels  and  their 
parts.  Mast,  sails,  yards,  rudder,  rigging,  bulwarks,  prow,  stern, 
deck,  hold,  and  keel  are  all  mentioned  ;  and  among  the  different 
kinds  of  vessels  the  "Assyrian  ship"  is  specially  designated, 
along  with  those  of  the  Babylonian  cities  of  Ur  and  Nippur.  It 
is  well  known  that  the  cuneiform  account  of  the  Deluge  contains 
a  detailed  description  of  the  building  of  the  ship  which  the  god 
Ea  bade  the  Babylonian  Noah  construct.^ 

At  the  present  day  the  Tigris  is  only  navigable,  even  for  ves- 
sels of  light  draught,  up  to  about  twenty  miles  below  Mosul,  and 
thence  to  Diarbekr  only  by  raft,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  the 
conditions  were  much  more  favorable  in  early  times.  As  far  as 
Bagdad,  however,  the  river  is  navigable  for  light  freight-bearing* 

^  See  also  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  Bk.  i.  c.  194,  for  valuable  notes  and 
references.  Prof.  Haupt  has  called  my  attention  to  an  article  in  the 
Daheim  of  March  16th,  1895  (No.  34,  p.  383"  above),  where  it  is  stated 
that  the  African  explorer  Count  Gotzen,  in  the  summer  of  1894,  crossed 
the  rapid  stream  of  the  Lowa,  a  large  tributary  of  the  Congo,  by  means 
of  a  canoe  and  raft  constructed  of  inflated  goat  skins.  Consequently 
this  species  of  raft  seems  not  to  have  been  confined  to  Mesopotamia. 

2  See  Haupt's  Nimrod  Epic,  p.  136,  11.  48  ff. 


Vol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature,  171 

steamers,  and  it  is  possible  that  the  vessels  of  the  ancients  may 
have  been  able  to  proceed  even  further  up  the  stream. 

Opis,  where  the  writer  of  the  letter  translated  below  desired 
to  establish  a  base  of  operations  for  his  vessel,  was  an  ancient 
commercial  city  of  importance  situated  at  the  junction  of  the 
Tigris  with  the  Adhem.  It  was  conquered  by  Tiglathpileser  I. 
about  1100  B.C.;  and,  continuing  to  flourish  until  a  compara- 
tively late  period,  is  frequently  mentioned  by  Greek  writers 
(Herod.,  i.  189  ;  Xen,,  Anab.,  ii.  4,  25  ;  Arrian,  Anab.,  vii.  7,  6  ; 
Strabo,  ii.  1,  26  ;  xi.  14,  8;  xvi.  1,  9).  Its  ruins  are  still  to  be 
seen  (cf.  Delitzsch,  Paradies,  p.  205).  It  was  to  Opis  that  some 
of  the  ships  built  by  Sennacherib  in  696  or  695  b.  c.  for  his 
expedition  against  Merodach-baladan  were  floated  down  the 
Tigris  from  Nineveh  ;  starting  thence,  they  sailed  down  the  river 
to  the  district  of  Bit-Dakk^ri,  where  they  passed  through  the 
canal  Arakhtu  into  the  Euphrates,  thus  joining  the  rest  of  the 
fleet. ^  Bab-bitqi  was  situated  further  down  the  Tigris.  It  is 
mentioned  in  a  text  of  the  time  of  Sargon  (lY  R'^,  46,  no.  1,  rev. 
1)  in  connection  with  Bit-Dakktiri,  which  extended  from  the  left 
bank  of  the  Euphrates  in  the  neighborhood  of  Babylon  and  Bor- 
sippa  to  the  right  bank  of  the  Tigris.  (Cf.  Delitzsch,  ParadieSy 
p.  202.)  It  probably  lay  at  the  mouth  of  the  canal  Arakhtu 
mentioned  above,  which,  crossing  Bit-Dakkiiri,  passed  through 
Babylon  into  the  Euphrates,  thus  connecting  the  two  great  Meso- 
potamian  rivers.  Bab-bitqi  probably  means  Gate  i.  e.  Lock  of 
the  Cut  or  Ditch. 

Tab-9il-Esara  ("Good  is  the  shelter  of  Esara"),  the  writer  of 
the  letter,  was  governor  of  the  city  of  Assur,  and  held  the  high 
office  of  eponym  in  the  year  714  b.  c.  (Smith,  Eponym  Canoriy 
p.  84).  Thirteen  of  his  letters  are  published  in  Harper's  work 
(Nos.  87-99)  ;  and  two  others  (E,^^  2,  458,  459)  are  edited  by  the 
same  scholar  in  the  Zeitschrift  fur  Assyriologie,  viii.  pp.  355,. 
356,  but  most  of  them  are  unfortunately  badly  mutilated.  One 
of  them  (K  507),  which  is  also  published  in  transliteration,  with 
translation  and  commentary,  by  Delitzsch  [L.A.^  ii.  p.  32),^  refers 
to  a  certain  Nabti-bel-sumate,  prefect  of  Birat,  who  being- 
obliged  to  repel  a  raid  upon  Sippara,  has  been  unable  to  present 
himself  sooner  before  the  king.  Another  (K  656  =  Harper,  No. 
92)  gives  an  account  of  a  large  quantity  of  heavy  timber  for 
building  purposes  ;  and  building  operations  in  the  city  of 
Assur  are  mentioned  in  K  5466  (  =  Harper,  No.  99),  rev.  6  ff.,  and 
in  K  620  (= Harper,  No.  91),  rev.  2  if. 

A  most  important  reference,  which  places  beyond  a  doubt  the 
identification  of  the  writer  with  the  eponym  of  the  year  714 
B.  c,  is  contained  in  the  former  text  (K  5466)  11.  6-9  :  "  Since  my 
lord  the  king  has  given  freedom  to  the  city  of  Assur,  and  its 

1  See  Prof.  Haupt's  paper  on  The  Battle  of  Halule,  Andover  Beview, 
May,  1886,  p.  543. 
5  Also  by  S.  A.  Smith  in  PSBA.,  x.  pt.  3,  pi.  ix.,  and  pp.  173  ff. 


172  Christopher  Johnston,  [1897. 

government  has  devolved  upon  me,  I  am  repairing  the  palace  of 
the  city  of  palaces.'"  King  Sargon  repeatedly  mentions  the  fact 
that  he  restored  to  the  cities  of  Assur  and  Harran  their  ancient 
privileges  and  immunities,  which  had  long  fallen  into  abeyance 
(cf.  Winckler's  Keilschrifttexte  Sargons,  pp.  80,  96, 146,  158, 174); 
and  the  building  operations  mentioned  by  Tab-9il-Esara  were 
doubtless  due  to  the  desire  of  the  Assyrian  monarch  to  restore 
to  the  former  capital  of  his  empire  something  of  its  pristine 
glory.  Tab-9il-Esara,  who  was  governor  of  Assur  under  Sargon 
(r.  722-705  b.  c),  may  well  have  lived  on  into  the  reign  of  Sar- 
gon's  son  and  successor  Sennacherib  (r.  705-681  b.  c),  and  there- 
fore it  is  not  impossible  that  the  ships  mentioned  in  the  letter 
may  have  constituted  part  of  the  fleet  built  by  the  latter  mon- 
arch in  696-695.  There  is  no  record  of  the  possession  by  the 
Assyrians  of  a  permanent  navy,  and  these  vessels,  having  served 
the  purpose  for  which  they  were  constructed,  may  well  have  been 
either  broken  up  or  acquired  by  individuals  for  commercial  pur- 
poses. 

The  following  letter,  which  is  so  clear  as  to  need  no  special 
explanation,  would  seem  to  show  that  Opis  was  considered  a  more 
desirable  point  for  operating  freight  vessels  than  Bab-bitqi.  It  is 
published  in  Harper's  Letters,  No.  89,  and  may  be  translated  as 
follows  : 

TRANSLATION. 

To  the  king,  my  lord,  thy  servant  Tab-gil-Esara  ! 

Greeting  to  the  king,  my  lord  ! 

May  Asur  and  Belit  bless  the  king,  my  lord  ! 

That  ship  of  mine  in  which  the  grand  vizier  conveyed  money  down 
(the  river),  is  now  stopping  at  Bab-bitqi,  and  the  ship  of  the  governor 
of  Arrapakhitis  is  carrying  on  a  ferry  at  Opis.  My  lord  the  king  shall 
decide.    We  transport  in  her  straw,  fodder,  (and)  such  matters.  (?) 

Let  now  the  ship  of  the  governor  of  Arrapakhitis  come  and  carry  on 
a  ferry  at  Bfi,b-bitqi,  and  let  mine  go  to  Opis  so  that  we  may  transport 
straw  and  fodder  in  her  (there).  The  men  of  the  governor  of  Arrapa- 
khitis are  already  conducting  a  ferry  at  Bab-bitqi. 

ACCENTED     TRANSLITERATION. 

^Ana  sarri  heliia,  "^arduka  Tdb-^il-Esara  ! 

^LH  sulmii  ana  sarri  heliia  ! 

*Asur,  JBelit  ana  sarri  heliia  HikriibiX  ! 

^JElippu  si  idtu,  ''abarakku  kaspu  ina  libbi  ^iisserida,  ^ina 
Bdb-bitqi  ^^tdzdza,  ^^u  elippu  sa  paxdti  ^"^sa  Arapxa  ina  libbi 
Upfa    ^^niburu    tuppas.      ^^Sarru    belu    Udd.    ^^JVini  (?)    tibnu 

'  Or  the  city  of  Ekallati.     See  Sennach.  Bavian,  48-50. 


Vol.  xviii.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature,  1V3 

kislXtu  ^^dibhdtei^)  ammeti  (?)  ^''nuse\har  ina  libbisa].  (Rev.) 
^[Wmd  at'\d  elippu  ^sa  paxdti  sa  Arapxa  ^M  tallik,  *ina  Bdh- 
hitqi  ^niburu  M  tuppis,  ^u  idtu  111  talliJca^  Hna  Upfa  ^tihnu 
hisiXtu  ^ina  lihhisa  nusebira.  ^°  (^db^  sa  paxdti  "sa  Arapxa 
^^ina  Bdb-bitqi  ^^niburxi  ^^uppusU. 

19. 

K  1274. 

Since  all,  or  nearly  all,  the  Assyro-Babylonian  epistolary  texts 
that  have  as  yet  been  found  are  those  which  were  stored  up  in 
royal  palaces  among  the  archives,  letters  of  an  official  character 
constitute,  as  may  be  supposed,  by  far  the  greater  immber.  But 
few  letters  of  private  individuals  have  been  discovered,  and  those 
of  women,  of  whatever  rank,  are  extremely  rare.  In  fact,  I  am 
only  acquainted  with  two,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  both 
are  characteristic. 

One  of  these,  from  an  Assyrian  princess,^  a  grand-daughter  of  * 
Sardanapallus,  conveys  a  rebuke  to  a  presumptuous  court  lady 
who  has  been  guilty  of  a  flagrant  breach  of  etiquette.  The 
other,  from  a  woman  whose  social  status  is  not  evident,  contains 
an  appeal  in  behalf  of  some  unfortunate  slaves  who  have  claimed 
her  intercession.  She  bears  the  name  of  Sa-ra-a-a,  that  is  Sard^a.^ 
One  is  naturally  tempted  to  compare  this  name  to /^S'ara^  (HC^),  the 
by-form  of  Sarah  (n*)ij^)-     Sara'a  would  then  have  to  be, not  an 

T    T 

Assyrian,  but  a  Jewish  name  borrowed  from  Hebrew.  The  gen- 
uine Assyrian  equivalent  of  Sarah  [TTW)  is,  of  course,  Sarratu 

*  queen,'  but  in  foreign  words  Hebrew  \^  or  ^^  is  rendered  by  s  in 
Assyrian.' 

The  letter  probably  dates  from  the  Sargonide  period  ;  and  the 
fact  that  the  Assyrian  and  not  the  Babylonian  character  is 
employed,  as  well  as  the  title  of  the  official  to  whom  it  is 
addressed,  would  indicate  that  it  proceeds  from  an  Assyrian  city 
which  contained  a  royal  residence  (Nineveh,  Calah,  Assur,  etc.). 
It  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  define  the  relations  existing  between 
Sar§,'a  and  the  royal  secretary ;  she  was  possibly  his  wife  or  a  lady 
of  his  harem,  and  certainly  one  who  either  had  or  was  supposed 
to  have  influence  with  him. 

The  slaves  appear  to  have  been  conveyed,  at  some  previous 
time,  to  the  governor  of  Bit-Na'alani,  whether  by  gift  or  pur- 
chase is  not  stated.     The  governor  sold  them  to  a  certain  Marduk- 

'  Translated,  with  transliteration  and  commentary,  by  the  present 
writer  in  Johns  Hopkins  University  Circulars,  No.  126  (June  1896),  pp. 
91-93. 

2  Cf .  Zeitschrift  fur  Assyriologie,  ii.  p.  260  below. 

2  See  Johns  Hopkins  University  Circulars,  August,  1887,  p.  118^. 


174  Christopher  Johnston,  [1897. 

erba,  and  they,  having  reason  to  object  to  or  dread  this  arrange- 
ment, applied  to  Sara'a,  begging  her  to  use  her  influence  with  their 
former  master  to  prevent  the  consummation  of  the  bargain,  per- 
haps by  repurchasing  them.  The  officer  who  had  executed  the 
bill  of  sale  on  the  part  of  the  governor  was  with  them,  ready, 
apparently,  to  hand  them  over  to  the  purchaser  in  case  their 
appeal  failed,  so  that  prompt  action  in  the  matter  was  necessary. 
The  letter,  which  is  published  in  Harper's  Xe^^er^,  No.  220,  may 
be  thus  translated  : 

TRANSLATION. 

To  my  lord,  the  secretary  of  the  palace,  thy  handmaid  Sara'a  !  May 
Bel,  Belit, }  Belit  of  Babylon,  Nabu,  Ta§met,  Istar  of  Nine- 
veh, and  Istar  of  Arbela  bless  my  lord  !  May  they  grant  my  lord 
long  life  with  health  of  mind  and  body  ! 

The  governor  of  Bit-Na'alani  has  sold  to  Marduk-erba  the  slaves — 
seven  in  number — whom  he  had  from  my  lord.  These  people  are  now 
here,  (and)  have  come  to  me,  saying,  "Inform  the  secretary  of  the 
palace,  before  we  are  conveyed  to  the  house  of  Marduk-erba."  My  lord, 
the  officer  who  executed  the  contract  is  now  with  them. 

ACCENTED     TRANSLITERATION. 

^Ana  dupsar  ekalli,  heliia,  "^amtiika  SarWa  ! 

*Bel,  Belit, Belit  Bdbili,  ^JSTahU,   Tasmetu"^,  Istar  sa 

Ninua,  ^Istar  sa  Arha'il  ana  heliia  HihrublX  ! 

tfme  arJcdti  tiXb  libhi  ''tUh  sire  ana  heliia  liddinlX  ! 

*Arddni  sa  heliia,  ^sa  paxdtu  sa  Bit-N'a^dldni  (Rev.)  ^isM — 
Yii  napsdte  sunu — ^ana  Marduk-erha  ittedinsunu.  'Annflsim 
nise  annaka  sunu,  ^ittalkHnu  ina  tnuxxiia  ^md :  "  Ina  pdni  dup- 
sar ehalli  qihi  " — ''md :  "  add  hit  Marduk-erha  Hd  userahandsina^ 

^Besu,  helt,  iqnuq'dni,  ^annfZsim  issisunu. 


20. 

K  12S9. 

The  text  of  this  letter  is  published  in  Harper's  Letters,  No. 
219,  and  in  Winckler's  Sammlung  von  Keilschrifttexten,  ii.  p. 
48.  It  is  written  in  the  cursive  Babylonian  character,  and  the 
mention  of  Ezida  (*'  the  true  house  "ji,  the  celebrated  temple  of 
the  god  Nabti  in  Borsippa,  would  seem  to  leave  little  doubt  as  to 
the  locality  whence  it  proceeded.  For  the  date,  there  is  not 
sufficient  evidence.      The  writer  Bel-up^  ("Bel  gives  heed"), 

^  The  name  of  another  god  has  been  obliterated  here. 


Vol.  xviii.J  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  175 

after  the  usual  formula  of  greeting,  informs  his  father  that  he 
has  consulted  the  oracle  in  regard  to  a  projected  undertaking, 
and  that  the  god  has  fixed  upon  the  fourth  day  of  the  month  as 
the  most  favorable  occasion  for  entering  upon  it.  All  the  neces- 
sary arrangements  have  been  made,  and  the  overseer,  to  whom 
the  conduct  of  the  work  is  to  be  entrusted,  is  fully  instructed  as 
to  the  bearing  of  the  oracle,  so  that  he  may  know  how  to  select 
such  modes  of  procedure  as  may  be  lucky,  and  avoid  all  that  is 
unlucky.     The  letter  may  be  translated  as  follows  : 

TRANSLATION. 

Letter  of  Bel-upaq  to  Kuna  his  father  ! 

Greeting  to  my  father  ! 

I  pray  daily  to  Nabu  and  Nana  for  my  father's  life,  and  I  pay  heed- 
ful reverence  to  Ezida  in  thy  behalf.  When  I  consulted  the  god  of  the 
temple  in  regard  to  thee,  he  fixed  upon  the  fourth  of  the  month  as  the 
propitious  occasion.  Thy  workmaster  is  fully  instructed  in  regard  to 
every  matter  so  far  as  his  (the  god's)  words  are  propitious. 

ACCENTED     TRANSLITERATION. 

^Duppu  Bel-updq  ''ana  Kund  abisu  / 

*LiX  sulum  ana  abiia  ! 

*  tfmussu  NahiX  u  Nana  ^ana  haldt  napsdtt  sa  abiia  'upalK,  u 
ilku  ''ana  Ezida  ^ana  muxxika  ^kunndk. 

^°Ilu  mdr  biti*  ana  ^^muxxika  (Edge)  "kt  ^^as^alu,  (Rev.) 
^adannu  sa  sulum  ^adi  ilmi  rebi  i^^abta.  *Ana  tnimma  kaldma, 
*mala  dibbusu  ^sulum,  ummdnka  'xussu. 


*  A  god  Mdr-hiti  seems  to  be  mentioned  III  R  66,  11  b.  rev.,  but  this 
may  be  merely  an  epithet  like  other  names  in  the  same  column.  It 
seems  better  to  read  as  above. 


THE  EPISTOLARY  LITERATURE 


OF    THE 


ASSYRIANS  Aro  BABYLONIANS 


BT 

CHRISTOPHER  JOHNSTON 

Johns  Hopkins  University 
Baltimore,  Md. 

PART  II. 


The  Epistolary  Literature  of  the  Assyrians  and  Babylonians. 
— Bj  Dr.  Christopher  Johnston,  Johns  Hopkins  Univer- 
sity, Baltimore,  Md. 

PART  II.' 

Notes  and  Glossary  to  the  Selected  Letters. 

As  stated  in  Part  I.  of  this  paper  (vol.  xviii.  p.  129,  n.  2),  the 
third  and  fourth  volumes  of  Harper's  excellent  Corpus  JEpis- 
tolarum  appeared  while  my  article  was  going  through  the  press. 
All  the  texts  I  have  treated  are,  therefore,  now  readily  accessible 
to  scholars  ;'  and,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  accented  transliterations 
have  already  been  given  in  Part  I.,  while  syllabic  transliterations 
of  all  the  words  which  occur  in  them  are  given  in  the  subjoined 
Glossary,  it  seems  superfluous  to  publish  these  texts  in  syllabic 
transliteration,  as  was  done  by  Delitzsch  in  his  series  of  papers 
on  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature  in  the  Beitrdge  zur  Assyriolo- 
gie.  Nor  has  it  seemed  necessary,  in  the  present  state  of  Assyri- 
<^'^gy>  to  give  any  extensive  philological  commentary.  Philo- 
logical explanations  have,  so  far  as  possible,  been  relegated  to  the 
Glossary,  where  they  can  be  given  in  the  most  convenient  form ; 
the  Glossary  is,  in  fact,  intended  to  supply  all  that  is  needful  in 
this  direction,  and  at  the  same  time  to  serve  as  a  commentary. 
The  following  notes  have,  therefore,  been  directed  chiefly  to  the 
explanation  of  the  more  difficult  syntactical  constructions,  to 
notices  of  previous  translations  of  some  of  the  texts,  and  to  some 
general  remarks  in  regard  to  the  subject  matter  of  certain  pas- 
sages. In  the  Glossary  a  strictly  alphabetical  arrangement  has 
been  adopted,  which  will,  it  is  hoped,  be  sufficiently  clear  to 
require  no  explanation.  It  may,  however,  be  well  to  note  that  if 
two  words  have  the  same  consonantal  skeleton,  the  forms  with 
short  vowels  precede  those  with  long  vowels,  and  the  forms  with 
simple  consonants  those  with  doubled  consonants  ;  for  instance, 


1  For  Part  I.  see  vol.  xviii.,  1897,  pp.  125-175. 

2  The  following  texts  in  Part  I.  are  now  published  in  Harper's  work  : 
I  (K  524)  =  H.  282  ;  2  (K  13)  =H.  281  ;  3  (K  10)  =H.  280  ;  4  (K  528)  =H. 
269  ;  5  (K  79)  =H.  266  ;  6  (K  824)  =H.  290  ;  14  (S  1064)  =H.  392. 


Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  43 

adu,  idu,  udu ;  ddu,  idu,  'ddu,  Mu ;  adH^  idiX,  udil ;  dd4,  tdil, 
'ddtl,  edll;  addu,  iddu^  uddu ;  addU^  iddiX^  uddU.  Compare  my 
review  of  Delitzsch's  Assyrisches  Handworterhuch  in  the  Ameri- 
can Journal  of  Philology,  vol.  xvii.  pp.  485-491. 

Notes. 
I.  {K524.) 

I.  8.  S.  A.  Smith  and  Strassmaier  read  the  second  character  in 
this  line  dam,  i.  e.  assatu  y  Pinches  and  Harper  nin,  i.  e.  axdtu. 

II.  9-11.  ultu  .  .  .  ittalka.  Strassmaier  (S.  A.  Smith,  Asurhani- 
pal,  ii.  p.  87)  renders:  "von  Elam  aus  ist  in  Gefangenschaft 
gerathen  ;  zu  den  Tacha  war  er  (gegangen=)  gebracht  worden," 
which  can  hardly  be  reconciled  with  the  text. 

11.  11-12.  ultu  .  .  .  a^hata.  Smith  :^  "als  ich  seine  Hande  von 
den  Tacha  zuriick  erhielt."     What  this  means  it  is  difficult  to  say. 

1.  14.  Smith  reads  here  adi  napsdtesu^  taking  me  as  =  mes,  and 
translates,    "noch  am  Leben."     Pinches  (p.  77)  correctly  zi-me. 

r.  17.  Smith:  "es  war  ein  Bote  da,"  but  ihasH  would  have  to 
be  ;the  present,  *'  there  is  a  messenger."  In  this  case,  moreover,  we 
should  expect  ibdsi,  and  it  seems  better  to  read  ibdsu  "  has  come 
to  him."  Smith  has  also  failed  to  understand  the  conjunctional 
use  of  sa  in  this  line. 

1.  19.  Smith  reads  Ti-il-[mu-un],  but  the  traces  as  given  both 
by  Harper  and  by  Smith  himself,  hardly  favor  this  restoration. 

1.  22.  Strassmaier  (p.  87)  :  "fragten  um  ein  Orakel." 

1.  26.  Smith  :  ''50  Stuck  Kleider,"  taking  ku  =  pabdtu.  ku  is 
certainly  obscure  here,  but  it  can  hardly  stand  for  picbdtu. 

1.  27.  ana  kaspi  ina  qdtisu  itabkHni.  Smith  :  "mit  Silber 
gaben  sie  in  seine  Hande."  For  this  phrase,  which  often  occurs 
in  the  contract  tablets,  cf.  T'^  30,  sub  ^D{<. 

1,  29.  immereni  'our  sheep,'  Smith  reads  lu  ardd-ni,  and 
translates  'Hausschafe.'  Of  course  lu-nita  is  merely  the  com- 
mon ideogram  for  imtneru,  and  ni  is  the  pronominal  suffix.  For 
Strassmaier's  singular  rendering  of  11.  29  ff.,  which  Smith,  in  spite 
of  some  objections,  considers  "  sehr  passend,"  cf.  Smith  ii.  p.  88. 
It  is  hardly  worth  while  to  reproduce  it  here. 

1.  31.  sddu:  Smith  compares  sa-a-du  =  na-a-ru,  Y  R.  28,  1  ef., 
which   Strassmaier   renders  "  Uf er  des  Flusses";  but   cf.  JIW., 

^  Wherever  Smith  is  cited  in  these  notes,  S.  A.  Smith  is  meant. 


44  Christopher  Johnston,  [1898. 

p.  488*.     In  this  line   Smith   translates   sddu  *Ufer(?)',  in  1.  39, 
*Grenze(?).' 

2.  {K.  IS.) 

11.  1-7.  These  lines,  of  which  the  beginnings  are  mutilatecl, 
may  be  readily  restored,  partly  by  comparing  them  with  K  10 
(H.  280),  11.  1-4,  and  partly  from  the  context.  In  1.  5,  we  must 
evidently  restore  [dis  JIm-ma-xal-cT\a-a-su ;  in  1.  6,  \i-tu-r(£\-am- 
ma  is  required  by  the  context ;  and  in  1.  7,  the  restoration  ki-\i 
ip]-la-xu  is  obvious. 

I.  14.  sakniX,  iqdbUy  circumstantial,  §  152.  l/mma  here  refers 
to  the  whole  of  what  follows,  and  this  contains  two  separate  quo- 
tations, each  introduced  by  ki. 

II.  16-18.  For  my  former  reading  of  these  lines  (vol.  xviii.  p. 
141)  I  would  substitute  the  following  :  ^^ Agd  gahbi  ina  puluxti 
sa  emUqu  sa  ^''hel  sarrdni  heliia.  Mdt  Elmnt'i  htma  deH  xurrurity 
^^marusti  itHrU, puluxti  idteriblX,  "all  these  parts  are  in  terror  of 
the  troops  of  the  lord  of  kings,  my  lord.  The  Elamites  are  rav- 
aged as  though  (by)  a  plague,  they  are  in  a  state  of  utter  calamity, 
they  are  invaded  by  panic."  Mdt  Elamti  stands  here  figura- 
tively for  the  Elamites,  and  hence  the  use  of  the  plural,  as  con- 
structio  ad  sensum,  in  the  verbs  that  follow. — marusti  itilru, 
properly  "they  have  turned  into,  become,  calamity";  cf.  Dl'^J^  ^JX 
"I  am  (all)  peace,"  Ps.  cxx.  7,  H^^H  ^<iN  "^  ^™  (^^0  pi'ayer,'* 
Ps.  cix.  4.  For  examples  of  tdru  meaning  'to  become,'  cf. 
HW.,  p.  702^. — puluxti  ulteribU,  properly  "they  have  been 
caused  to  get  into  a  panic." 

1.  20.  Delitzsch,  HW.^  p.  362^,  gives  hutallu  without  transla- 
tion, but  I  see  no  reason  for  departing  from  the  generally 
accepted  rendering 'side,' which  is  supported  by  all  the  passages 
in  which  the  word  occurs  (cf.  HW.,  1.  c.  ;  B.A.^  i.  p.  227). 
Cf.  '^n^,  Cant.  ii.  19;  "iTO,  Dan.  v.  5;  N*':)n3 ,  Ezr.  v.  8, 
'wall,'  i.  e.  properly  side  of  a  house  or  room;  Syr.  ^^^)^D 
'poop,  stern'  of  a  vessel,  where  it  is  limited  by  usage  to  the 
rear  side. — mussurat  means  not  "was  abandoned"  (im  Stich 
gelassen,  HW.,  p.  362^),  but,  as  formerly  rendered  by  De- 
litzsch (B.A.  i.  p.  227),  "was  let  loose,  fell  away."  For 
mussuru  as  a  synonym  of  Heb.  rOt^  •>  cf.  Ilaupt's  remarks  in 
PAOS.,  March,  '94,  p.  cvii.  The  sense  of  the  passage  is  that, 
when  famine  was  added  to  the  many  evils  under  Avhich  the  land 
already  labored,  there  was  a  general  defection  from  the  party  of 
Ummanaldas,  and  factional  spirit  was  rife.     Some  parts  of  Elani, 


Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  £Jpistolary  Literature.  45 

indeed,  were  in  a  state  of  open  revolt,  alleging  as  a  pretext  their 
dissatisfaction  at  the  slaying  of  Urakhuluma  (11.  21-23).  The 
words  mdisunu  gabhi  ina  Jcutallisimu  mussurat,  "their  whole 
land  fell  away  from  their  side,"  lead  naturally  to  what  follows. 

1.  26.  Literally,  "is  not  this  the  word  which,"  etc.?— adt  Id 
axdliqu,  the  present  is  here  employed  as  the  tense  of  incomplete 
action. 

1.  35.  pasirdti  "as  a  guarantee,  credentials."  Bel-ibnt  proposes 
to  arrange  for  the  capture  of  Nabli-bel-sumate  by  sending  a  pri- 
vate message  to  Ummanaldas,  with  the  royal  signet  to  serve  as 
credentials  and  to  lend  force  to  his  request,  or  rather  com- 
mand. He  fears,  however,  that  Sardanapallus  may  deem  such  a 
method  beneath  his  dignity,  and  may  prefer  to  send  his  com- 
mand, in  the  usual  manner,  by  a  royal  courier.  That — the  king 
may  think — will  be  credentials  enough  for  the  Elamites.  But 
Ummanaldas,  however  willing  he  may  be,  is  weak,  and  Nabti-bel- 
sumate,  being  not  only  exceedingly  wary,  but  possessing,  more- 
over, great  influence  with  the  Elamite  nobles,  can  easily  make 
himself  secure  by  the  judicious  use  of  money,  if  once  he  gets 
wind  of  the  affair.  The  arrival  of  the  royal  messenger,  accom- 
panied by  an  escort  of  soldiers,  will  be  sure  to  attract  his  atten- 
tion and  to  arouse  his  suspicion.  It  is  best,  therefore,  to  use  less 
open  means,  and  perhaps,  if  only  the  gods  will  be  active  in  the 
matter,  the  wily  Chaldean  may  yet  be  taken  unawares  and  deliv- 
ered over  to  the  Assyrian  king. 

I.  46.  uUu  ZTmxulumd''  baltu,  properly,  "from,  commencing 
from  (the  time  that),  U.  was  alive." 

II.  47  ff.  It  had  been  the  habit  of  Nabti-bel-sumate  to  lavish  his 
portion  upon  his  parti zans,  but  now  times  are  hard  and  grain  is 
scarce.  He  therefore  alleges  that  the  officers  who  controlled  the 
distribution  of  the  grain  had  defrauded  him  of  his  proper  share, 
and  claims  restitution.  Accordingly  he  seizes  every  sarnuppu  he 
can  catch  and  compels  him  to  hand  over  the  original  amount 
claimed,  together  with  an  enormous  increase  by  way  of  interest 
and  indemnity.  Ummanaldas,  who  naturally  objects  to  these  pro- 
ceedings, sends  several  times  to  demand  the  surrender  of  the 
grain  thus  seized,  but  without  success. 

3.  {KIO.) 

1.  8.  Jcddu :  the  meaning  '  post,  garrison,'  seems  to  suit  the  con- 
text.    The  general  sense  is  clear.     The  Assyrians,  under  command 


46  Christopher  Johnston,  [1898. 

of  Musezib-Marduk  (rev.  2.  12),  were  to  use  Sabdanu  as  a  base  of 
operations,  and  thence  to  harrass  the  Elaraites. 

I.  17.  qaqqar  ina pdnisunu  rilqii  "a  long  stretch  of  ground  lay 
before  them."  The  small  force  of  five  hundred  men  operating  in 
a  hostile  country,  where  they  were  constantly  liable  to  attack, 
could  hardly  undertake  a  long  march  encumbered  by  a  large 
number  of  prisoners,  and  for  this  reason  more  than  two  hundred 
had  to  be  put  to  death. 

II.  24-25.  pisunu  iddaniX^m,  literally,  "they  gave  their  utter- 
ance," i.  e.  they  sent  a  message  to  arrange  the  terms  {ade)  of 
capitulation. 

4.  (K528.) 

1.  9.  tusaghat-ma,  here  with  ellipsis  of  xarrdnu^  as  indicated  by 
tasdpar  which  follows  (1.  10).  For  the  expression  xarrdnu  pabd- 
tu,  sut^hutu,  cf.  HW.,  pp.  5618-,  562^. 

I.  13.  mdt  Elamti  Ududd-ma.  For  ray  former  rendering  of 
these  words  (vol.  xviii.  p.  145),  I  would  substitute,  "brought  Elara 
(against  us)."  Cf.  naJcru  u  hiXhiXti  ina  muxxl  bit  belika  ul  tasdud 
"  thou  hast  not  brought  foe  or  famine  against  thy  lord's  house," 
6,  27-29. — 1.  22.  For  attallak  (vol.  xviii.  p.  146)  read  addlap. 

II.  29-32.  nipxur-ma,  nillik-ma^  nuterd-ma,  niddin,  are  all 
cohortatives  (§  145). 

5-  (^?»-) 

1.  7.  In  the  name  PirH-Bel,  the  original  has,  instead  of  din- 
GiR-EN,  i-en  (i.  e.  isten),  which  is  doubtless  a  mere  scribal  error. 
I  assume  that  the  published  text  is  correct  as  Pinches  (IV  R.', 
46)  and  Harper  (No.  266)  agree. 

1.  8.  sandte  agd  x,  literally,  these  ten  years. 

Rev.  11.  18-19  (=11.  266,  r.  13-14).  The  text  of  these  lines 
■seems  to  be  very  uncertain  (cf.  Bezold,  Literatur,  p.  240).  The 
following  suniXti-ma  .  .  .  liqblJb  would  seem  to  indicate  that  proper 
names  preceded. 

6.  {K8U) 

1.  5.  Note  sa  taspur  here  and  in  1.  35  without  the  overlapping 
vowel.  S.  A.  Smith  has  entirely  misunderstood  the  passage  that 
follows. 


Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  47 

11.  17-20.  The  construction  of  these  lines  offers  some  difficulty. 
It  seems  best  to  take  id  as  used  absolutely  '  No  ! '  and  ina  .  .  . 
qatdta  as  parenthetical.  Ordinarily  we  should  expect  d  dmur  in 
1.  20,  but  the  negation  has  already  been  expressed  by  ul,  and  it  is 
not  necessary  to  repeat  it.  This  loose  construction  is  due  to  the 
insertion  of  hia  . . .  qatdta,  which  interrupts  the  continuity.  Smith 
renders  :  "  Du  bist  nicht  wegen  des  Dienstes  des  Hauses  deines 
Herrn  getrennt,"  etc. 

1.  29.  Smith  reads  ultusdud,  but  the  usual  form  would  be  ultas- 
didy  and  the  context  requires  the  second  person. 

1.  36.  ban  sa  tepiisd  "  the  good  (service)  which  ye  have  done." 
ban  is  construct  (before  the  relative)  of  baniX,  '  honorable,  good,' 
etc.  Cf .  ba-ni  sa  taspura  "  it  is  well  that  thou  hast  sent,"  K.  95 
(H.  288),  r.  3;  ba-ni  sa  tat^hatdsunUti  "it  is  well  that  ye  have 
seized  them,"  K.  94  (H.  287),  7.  Cf.  also  ban^  in  1.  39  of  the 
present  text. 

8.  (K629.) 

Rev.  1.  6.  nds-sappdte  is  nominative  absolute. — sa  niqiXsu  ibd- 
sUnij  literally,  "(he)  whose  offering  exists." 

1.  13.  lusallim'd  lipuM  "may  they  perfectly  execute,"  like 
Heb.  n^N  np'^l  ^Dh,  Arab.  *:^.  oU  Lo ,  etc. 

9.  {K.  5J,7.) 

1.  1.  dupsar  mdti.  The  traces  given  by  Harper,  and  the  follow- 
ing mdti  (cf.  W.  24)  shows  that  a-ba  is  to  be  restored  here.  De- 
litzsch  [HW.,  p.  4^)  gives  a-ba  without  translation,  and  refers  to 
dupsarru,  where,  however,  no  mention  of  a-ba  is  to  be  found.  In 
his  Worterbuch  (p.  23)  a-ba  is  fully  discussed,  but  is  not  con- 
nected with  dupsarru.  In  a  note  onK.  572,  6  (B.A.,  i.  p.  218)  he 
gives  dupsarru  as  the  equivalent  of  the  ideogram  a-ba,  and 
points  out  the  interchange  between  a-ba  and  dupsarru  in  III  R.  2, 
Nos.  iii,  vii,  xiii ;  64,  35b.  In  III  R.  2,  Marduk-sum-iqisa, 
father  of  Nabtizuqup-kena,  is  designated,  11.  17.  22.  24.  38.  55,  as 
»inei  DUB-SAR,  or,  11.  2.  8.  ^""^^  DUB-SAR-RiM,  while  in  11.  2.  9,  and  III  R. 
64,  35b,  he  bears  the  title  of  ^™^^  a-ba.  In  Knudtzon's  Gebete  an 
den  Sonnengott,  No.  lOp,  9,  we  find  \l<i  ^"^^^  dub-sar-]mks  Assurd 
M  amei  DUB-SAR-MEs  Armd,  which  may  be  compared  with  ^™^^  a-ba 
Assurd,  ^""^^  A-BA  Armd  II  R.  31,  64.  65.  Further,  in  a  large 
number  of  passages  in  the  contract  tablets  we  find  the  *°^^^  a-ba 


48  Christopher  Johnston,  [1898. 

exercising  the  legal  or  notarial  functions  of  the  dupsarru  (cf.  W. 
23).  In  view  of  these  facts  I  have  here,  and  in  19,  1,  rendered 
A-BA  by  dupsarru.  I  have  done  so,  however,  with  a  certain  reser- 
vation. While  I  believe  that  a-ba.  can  in  general  be  replaced  by 
dupsarru,  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  it  is  merely  ideogram  for 
dupsarru.  Of  course,  a-ba  must  not  be  confounded  with  ab-ba 
explained  by  sihu  *old  man,  elder';  but  it  is  entirely  possible  that 
a-ba  had  some  similar  meaning,  and  was  applied  to  the  dup- 
sarru as  a  term  of  respect,  in  the  same  way  that  sheikh  is  used  in 
Arabic.  It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  notice  that  in  K.B.  iv.  we  find 
in  the  Assyrian  legal  documents,  from  Ramman-nirart  III  to 
Asurbanipal,  invariably  a-ba,  never  dupsarru,  while  in  Babylo- 
nian tablets  of  a  similar  character  dupsarru  ('^^^^  dub-sar,  ^°^^^  sid) 
consistently  occurs  from  Sumu-abim  (p.  10,  1.  25)  to  Antiochus 
III  (p.  319,  1.  25),  never  a-ba  ;  and  Tallqvist,  in  his  Sprache  der 
Contracte  N'ahlX-na'id''s,  does  not  mention  a-ba  as  occurring  in 
any  Babylonian  contract.  Moreover,  in  Babylonian  tablets,  dated 
in  the  reign  of  the  Assyrian  king  Sin-sar-iskun,  we  find,  not  a-ba, 
but  dupsarru.  Cf.  K.  B.,  iv.  p.  174,  Nos.  i,  ii.  (dated  at  Sippar)  ; 
176,  No.  iii.  (dated  at  Ilruk).  In  the  earlier  Babylonian  docu- 
ments (K.B.,  iv.  pp.  1-48)  we  find  invariably  ^'"^^  dub-sar,  while 
later  ^™®^  sid  seems  to  be  most  commonly  used. 

14.  {S  106J^.) 

11.  9-11.  S.  A.  Smith  renders  :  "  um  die  allgemeine  Entzundung 
zu  vermindern  die  um  seine  Augen  ist,"  which  needs  no  comment. 
JSikru  stands  for  zikru  *man';  for  similar  interchange  in  case  of 
the  homonym  zikru  '  name,  command,'  cf.  sikir  saptisu,  Asurn.  i. 
5,  sikir  piia,  Lay.  43,  2,  sikir  Samas  Tig.  Pil.  i.  31.  I  see  no 
necessity  to  assume,  with  Delitzsch  {HW.,  pp.  254^,  510^),  the 
existence  of  two  stems  "^^t  and  IpD  •  There  is  no  evidence  for 
the  occurrence  of  p  in  this  stem  except  when  followed  by  u,  and 
in  this  case  qu  is  merely  a  phonetic  spelling,  indicating  the  sound 
of  the  consonant  as  modified  by  the  vowel  following. 

I.  14.  Smith  takes  irtumu  as  ^*  of  DTI-  i  prefer  to  take  it  as 
prt.  of  DiT^  ;  see  the  glossary.  For  the  use  of  the  modus  rela- 
tivus  without  sa  cf.  §  147,  2. 

II.  24  ff.  ildnika  is  nominative  absolute. 

1.  31.  Smith:  "noch  7  oder  8  Tage  wird  er  leben,"  which  is 
exactly  the  opposite  of  the  true  sense. 


Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  49 

15.  (K519.) 

Rev.  1.  6.  ma'adu^  not  adjective,  but  noun  in  apposition  to 
ddme  ;  literally,  "  blood,  a  (multitude,  that  is,  a)  profusion." 

1.  10.  naxnaxete  sa  appi  can  only  mean  the  alse  of  the  nose,  as  is 
shown  by  the  context.  Plugging  the  nares  had  not  hitherto  been 
resorted  to,  for  that  is  the  remedy  suggested  by  Arad-Nana. 
The  treatment  must  therefore  have  consisted  in  the  application  of 
external  compresses,  which  could  only  have  been  placed  upon 
{i7ia  muxxi,  1.  9)  the  alse.  In  such  a  case  the  nasal  breathing 
would  be  impeded  by  the  compresses,  while,  unless  skilfully 
applied,  the  bandages,  required  to  keep  them  in  place,  would  inter- 
fere with  breathing  by  the  mouth. 

I.  11.  naxnaxiXtu  'breathing':  this  rendering  suits  the  context, 
and  is  also  suggested  by  naxnaxete  (properly  '  breathers ')  in  the 
preceding  line. 

1.  12-13.  istu pdni  ddme  HQiXni  "the  blood  flows  in  spite  (of 
them),"  literally  "from  before  (them)  ";  that  is,  they  only  serve 
to  interfere  with  the  breathing  of  the  patient,  and  do  not  check 
the  hemorrhage  (cf.  r.  11.  3-7). — sutiu,  referring  to  lippe,  is  to  be 
understood  after  ina  pdni ;  cf.  ina  lihhi  used  similarly  without 
the  pronominal  suffix,  14,  25. 

16.  {K50U) 

1.  12.  lidhuhu.  We  should,  of  course,  expect  lidbuh  ;  lid-hu-hu 
may  be  a  mere  scribal  error  due  to  the  influence  of  li-ru-hu  in 
the  preceding  line. 

1.  13.  kettu  {ki-e-ttc).  S.  A.  Smith  renders  '  faithfully (?)'  and 
connects  with  what  precedes.  In  a  note  he  states  that  he  is  "not 
certain  as  to  the  meaning  and  derivation  of  this  word." 

I.  16.  Smith  :  "the  house  of  the  king,  my  lord  sent  to  me." 
Rev.  11.  5-6.  ina  .  .  .  listuriX.     Smith  renders  :  "suddenly  they 

were  destroyed  ;  may  they  be  written."(!) 

II.  8-10.  zunnu^  ehiXru  ;  the  sign  mes  is  here  not  plural,  but  col- 
lective. Note  the  singular  verbs.  Smith :  "  Much  rain  con- 
stantly shall  come.  May  the  harvest  (when)  threshed  the  heart 
of  the  king,  my  lord,  rejoice." 

17.  (K660,) 

1.  14.  karmatiini ;  3  fem.  permans.  agreeing  with  naxxartu. 
Strassmaier,  I^bn.^  No.  386  is  an  account  of  the  receipt  of  34  • 

VOL.   XIX.  4 


50  Christopher  Johnston^  [1898. 

na-ak-rl-ma-nii  (1.  14),  which  wers  made  of  leather,  as  shown  by 
the  determinative  su  (=  masak)  11.  1.  4.,  and  served  ana  Jci-ri-mu 
sa  sikar  se-bar  (11.  1.  2.),  and  ana  ki-ri-rrm  silqdtu  u  sikar  se-bar 
(11.  11-12).  sikar  se-bar,  i.  e.  drink  prepared  from  grain,  must 
certainly  mean  *beer.'  silqu^  which  occurs  in  a  list  of  plants  and 
vegetables  explained  by  Meissner  {Z.A.,  vi.  pp.  289  ff.)  means 
*beet,'  and  corresponds  to  Aram.  Kp'^^D  {Z.A.,  vi.  p.  295;  T°  111). 
In  the  passage  before  us  silqdtu  {si-il-qa-a-tK)  may  be  simply  the 
fem.  pi.  of  silqu  (cf.  sumu,  pi.  sumdte),  or,  as  it  occurs  here  with 
sikarUy  it  may  be  the  name  of  a  fermented  liquor  prepared  from 
beet  juice.  It  is  difficult  to  see  what  objects  of  leather  could 
have  been  used  in  this  connection  except  the  skins  in  which  the 
beer  and  beet  wine  (or  beets,  in  which  case  the  skins  would  be 
used  as  bags)  were  contained.  The  words  nakrimdnu  ana  kire- 
ma  sa  sikar  se-bar  may  therefore  be  rendered  "  leather  bottles 
for  bottling  beer."  Meissner  (1.  c.)  compares  A;^V^mw^w  'womb.* 
Taking  into  consideration  the  analogy  of  ummu^  the  stem  D")^ 
might  well  mean  *to  be  capacious,'  and  so  *to  contain,'  etc.  For 
these  reasons  I  have  rendered  karmatuni  *is  bottled,'  which  suits 
the  context  well. 


Glossary. 

U  (1,  ,)  and:  (1)  connecting  nouns  ttib  libbi  u  ttib  siri 
health  of  mind  and  body  i,  4-5  ;  (2)  connecting  verbs  ilu  use- 
9auussaxxar  he  will  carry  the  god  forth  and  bring  him  back 
8,  r.  2-3. -^Adversative,  but:  u  Asur  .  .  .  uraqani  but  A.  with- 
holds me  6,  12;  u  ina  libbi  sa  but  because,  etc.,  6,  23. — 
(HW  P) 

a'ddu  (*Ti^1  ?). — S  to  apply,  have  recourse,  to  (properly  to 
make  an  appointment,  "l^i^lil)  :ki  tuse'ida  (tu-se-i-da)  whe^i 
ye  applied  2,  54: ',  kt  use'idus  (u-se-'-i-du-us)  although  he 
has  applied  for  it  2,  59. — (HW  230*) 

abu  (D^5,  \^\)  father:  abiia  (AD-ia)  my  father  4,  14;  6, 
15  ;  20,  3.  5  ;  a-bu-su  5,  15,  a-bi-su  5,  9.  11,  ad-su  20, 
2  his  father ;  axe  abisu  (ad-su)  his  uncles  ^y  15. — (W  17; 
HW3*) 

abdku  (prop,  to  turn  =  HfiH^  in  which  ^  is  due  to  a  partial 
assimilation  of  ^  to  ^)lto  bring,  carry  off,  purchase. — Ct'  ana 


Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  51 

kaspi  ina  qatisu  itabktini  (i-tab-ku-ni)  they  purchased 
from  him  i,  27  ;  cf.  T°  30.— (W  28;  HW  6*) 

abdlu  (^D1)»  pi't.  libil,  prs.  ubbal,  ^o  bring. — 0  to  send,  con- 
?>ey;  1  pi.  nusebila  (nu-se-bi-la)  5,  r.  13.  24;  3  pi.  usebilti. 
ni  (u- se-bi-lu-[ni])  3,  r.  14.  Prec.  1  sg.  lusebiluni-ma 
(lu-se-bi-lu-nim-ma)  2,  34;  lusebil  (lu-se-bil)  2,  36; 
3  pi.  lusebiltini  (lu- se-bil-u-ni)  16,  r.  4. — 0*  same,  1  sg. 
ussebila  (u-si-bi-la)   10,  r.  4  ;  §  51,  2.— (HW  230*) 

ubdnu  (pKi)^^^6r.*  ubani  (su-si)  9ixirti  the  little  finger 
14,  23.— (W  41  ;  HW  8b) 

eberu  ODJ^),  pi't.  ebir,  prs.  ibbir,  to  cross. — ^*  etebir 
(i-te-bir)  he  crossed  (the  river)  2,  10. — 0  to  convey  over,  trans- 
port: nusebar  (nu-se-[bar])  we  transport  18,  17;  nusebira 
(nu-se-bi-ra)  let  us  transport  (cohort.)  18,  r.  9. — (W  59  ;  HW 
10^) 

eburu  CHID]/)  harvest:  ebtiru-MEs  16,  r.  10  (where  the 
plural  sign  merely  emphasizes  the  collective  meaning  of  the 
noun).— (W  66;  HW  11'') 

abarakku,  sua  of&cisil  title,  grand  vizier :  ^"^^^  abarakku  (si- 
dub)   i8,.7.— (W68;  HW  12*) 

agd  this,  these,  for  all  genders,  numbers,  and  cases;  written 
a-ga-a  2,  16.  48;  4,  24;  6,  20,  etc.;  a-ga-ia  2,  26. — (W  76  ; 
HW  13b) 

igaru  (^JlXg,  ^^)  loall:  pi.   igarate  (e-libit-mes)  16,  20. 

r.  6.— (W  105  ;   HW  ]8'>) 

egirtu  (mJIK)  better:  e-gir-tu  4,  36.— (W  103;  HW  18*) 

idu  (■T^  Jo,  Eth.  ^d)  hand:  idasu  (id'^-su)  his  hands  (pre- 
ceded by  determ.  Tjzu,  i.e.  siru)  14,25.  Pi.  idate  (i-da-te), 
but  in  what  sense?  15,  12.— (HW  303*) 

adu  (Hi^,  ni^)'  usually  in  genit.  adi,  properly  continuance, 
duration. — (1)  a-du-u  now,  3,  r.  22. — (2)  during,  within,  a-du 
time  VII  VIII  ibalat  he  will  be  well  in  7  or  8  days  14,  31. — 
(3)  as  soon  as,  a-di  i,  14. — (4)  until,  a-di  5,  r.  13;  7,  r.  17; 
20,  r.  2.— (5)  as  far  as  (of  space)  ultu  .  .  .  adi  (a-di)  from  .  .  . 
to  2,  49;  3,  r.  18-19.— (6)  adi(ti)  la  (followed  by  prs.)  before, 
a-di  la  2,  26;  a-du-u  la  19,  r.  6-7.— (W  127  ;  HW  22^  24*) 

adu  (Nil)  pi't.  tidl,  prs.  tida,  to  determine,  decide:  sarru 
beli  (belu)  lid  a  (u-da)  the  king  shall  decide  7,  r.  19;  8,  H  ; 
17,  12;   18,  14.— (HW  232*) 


52  Christopher  Johnston^  [1898. 

adu  (properly  infin.  of  preceding)  statute^  law,  compact:  ade 
(a-di-e)  .  .  .  i99abtti  they  made  terms  3,  25;  ki  adi  (a-di) 
accordmg  to  compact  I,  23. — (HW  232^) 

idu  (i^l*),  prt.  and  prs.  idi,  to  know. — Prs.  1  sg.  mod.  rel.  Idti 
(i-du-u)  6,  24;  3  pi.  Idti  (i-du-u)  4,  11.  Prec.  3  sg.  \A  idi 
(i-di)  5,  r.  27.— (HW  303^) 

adannu  (  =  adanu,  ^^^1?)  time,  period:  a-dan-nu  sa 
sulum  the  propitious  time  20,  r.  1. — (W  135  ;  HW  26^) 

adannis,  addannis  (=ana  dannis)  greatly,  exceedingly: 
a-dan-nis  7,4;  10,4;  12,  r.  6  ;  16,  r.  9 ;  a  d-d  an -n  is  14,3. 
8.  28  ;   15,  3.  7.— (W  160  ;  HW  26'';  Hebraica  x.  196). 

adru,  perhaps  enclosure  (*infl)-  ad-ri  ekalli  the  palace  en- 
closure 8,  15.  16.     (Cf.  adtiru  enclosure,  HW  29^) 

iddte,  see  idu. 

idatutu,  perhaps  confirmation,  ratification,  of  a  bargain  or 
agreement:  ana  \-^2i-t\x-t\x  to  bind  the  bargain{'i)  i,2Q.  (Cf. 
T'^  76,  sub  n») 

ezebu  (Dti^),  prt.  ezib,  prs,  izzib,  to  leave:  0*  to  save, 
rescue:  usezibti  (u-si-zi-bu)  they  rescued  7,  r.  4. — (§51,  2; 
W  244  ;   HW  34'') 

axu  (UK,   ^f)    brother:   axiia  (sEs-ia)  my   brother  6,  34; 

axusu  (sEs-su)  sa  the  brother  of  *],  14: -,  axesu  (ses-mes-su) 
his  brothers  3,  14;  axe  (ses-mes)  abisu  his  uncles  3,  15; 
mare   axisu  (ses-su)  his  nephews,  ^y  15. — (W  266  ;  HW  38*) 

axu,  pi.  axati,  side  (etym.  identical  with  axu  brother):  ana 
a-xu  aga  07i  this  side ^y  12;  ana  a-xi-su-nu  ulli  to  their 
further  side  (i.  e.  to  their  rear)  3,  22-23. — (W  275  ;  HW  39'') 

axd'is  (properly  like  brothers,  axamis,  cf.  samamis) 
together:  a-xa-is  7,  16.— (W  269  ;  HW  39") 

axelmis  (see  axa'is)  together,  mutually:  ana  a-xa-mes 
mutually  I,  22;  ana  tar9i  a-xa-mes  opposite  each  other  3, 
r.  23.— (W  270;  HW  39*) 

axdtu  (milN)  sister:  mar  axatiia  (NiN-ia)  my  nephew 
3,  r.  1;  mdr  axatisu  (nin-su)  sa  the  nephew  of  i,  8. — (W 
268  ;  HW  39*) 

eteru,  prt.  etir(-er),  prs.  ittir(-er),  properly  to  surround 
(*ltOi^)5  then  to  hold,  or  keep,  intact,  to  receive,  buy:  ul  i-tir- 
su  he  has  not  received  it  2,  60  ;  ramansu  ittir  he  will  buy  him>- 
self  off  2,4.1,— {W  ^25',  HW46*;  T°  36) 

dka  (HD^N)  '^here  f  whither  f :  a-a-ka  niskun  (cohort. ) 
where  shall  we  put  (it)  f  17,  r.  7.— (W  338  ;  HW  48*) 


Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  53 

aki  (a-ki-e)  like,  as:   15,  13;  cf.  ki.— (W  371;  HW  52^) 

2ik\\x  food,  provisions :  i  qa  ak-li-su  one  qa  of  his  provis- 
ions 8,  r.  8.— (W  381 ;  HW  54^) 

akdlu  ('^DN),  prt.  ekul,  prs.  ikkal,  to  eat:  likulti  (li- 
\\i.-\vi)  let  them  feed  {oi  sheep)  i,  31;istu...qar9ekaina 
paiiiia  ekulu(i-ku-lu)  since  he  slandered  thee  (literally,  ate 
thy  pieces  ;  cf.  qar9u)  before  me  6,  10. — ^'  same,  3  sg.  e-tak- 
la  7,  16;  3  pi.  e-tak-lu    7,  13.— (W  374  ;  HW  53^) 

akdlu  (properly  infin.  of  preceding)  food:  pi.  a  kale  (sa- 
MEs)  7,  13.— (W  380  ;  HW  54^) 

ekallu  (Sumerian  e-gal  great  house;  '^^^1)  palace: 
E-GAL  2,  63;  3,  r.  24.  25  ;  8,  15.  16  ;  19,  1.  r.  5.— (W  338  ;  HW 
48») 

ul  (cstr.  of  uUu  non-existence)  not,  never  used  in  prohibition 
like  ^^  ;  I,  41  ;  2,  60  ;  4,  26  etc.;  no!  6,  17.— (HW  7P) 

ilu  (^^)  god:  ilu  (dingir)  I,  22  ;  8,  15.  r.  2;  iluka  (din- 
GiR-ka)  thy  god  8,  13.  PI.  ilani  (dingik-mes)  2,41;  4, 
10;  18,  20.  r.  1.  10;  ilaniia  (DiNGiR-MEs-ia)  my  gods  6, 
12;  ilanika  (oiNGiR-MEs-ka)  thy  gods  14,  24;  bit  ill 
temple  16,  r.  1.  7.— (W  402  ;  HW  59^) 

dlu  ('?nN)j  cstr.  al,  pi.  alani,  city:  written  er  i,  19.  21 ;  3, 
12.  17  ;  II,  7  etc.— (W  5  ;  HW  59=^) 

elu  ifl^)',  pi*t.  ell,  prs.  illi,  to  he  high,  ascend. — J[*  tit  till 
(u-tu-li)  I  removed  {i.  e.  took  up)  14,  20. — S  sa  .  .  .  usela  (u- 
se-el-la-a)  whoever  offers  (to  the  god,  Th)}T\)  8,  r.  8. — Q*  9abe 
usseli'u  (u-si-li-u)  /  brought  up  soldiers  7,  r.  10;  u s  s e  1  ti n  i 
(u-si-lu-ni)  they  got  (him)  out  (up)  11,  r.  2;  sumu  ili  .  .  . 
ultelti  (ul-te-lu-u)  they  svjore  by  (made  high)  the  name  of 
the  god  I,  24.— (W  420  ;  HW  60^) 

ullu  (cf.  ^i^,  ti7i^)  that,  yonder  (ille)  :  axi  ul-li-i  the 
further  (yonder)  side  3,  23.— (HW  73^) 

ilku  lordship,  worship,  reverence :  il-ku  ana  Ezida  kun- 
nak  J  pay  heedful  reverence  to  Ezida  20,  6. — (W  481  ;  HW 
70^) 

aldku  (n'??!),  prt.  illik,  prs.  illak,  to  go,  come.  Prt.  sg. 
il-li-ku  (mod.  rel.)  4,  15;  pi.  il-li-ku-ni  5,  11.  12.  Prs.  sg. 
il-lak  8,  r.  1  ;  il-ia-ka  8,  IV.  r.  5  ;  pi.  il-lak-u-ni  15,  r.  3. 
Prec.  sg.  lillika-ma  (lil-li-kam-ma)  I,  34;  4,  28.-3  fern. 
Iti  ta-li-ik  18,  r.  3;  Iti  ta-li-ka  18,  r.  6.— 1.  la-al-lik  8,  14  ; 
pi.  lil-li-ku-ni  7,r.  15;  lilliktinl-ma  (lil-li-ku-nim-ma) 
1,29;  pi.  1.  ni-il-lik-ma  (cohort.)  4,  30.— ^^  same,  sg.  it-ta- 


64  Christopher  Johnston^  [1898. 

lak  15,  11;  i-ta-lak  16,  r.  9  ;  it-tal-ka  i,  11;  2,  10.  39.— 1. 
at-ta-lak  7,  r.  7  ;  at-tal-ka  5,  r.  10 ;  pi.  i-tal-la -ku  7,  11  ; 
it-tal-ku  I,  21  ;  2,  13  ;  15,  r.  7  ;  i  t-t  al-ku-u-ni  7,  18;  it- 
tal-ku-nu  19,  r.  4. — 0  causative.  Prec.  3  pi.  lu-sa-li-ku 
8,  r.  21.— (W  461  ;  HW  66^) 

alpu  (C]'7N)  ox:  pi.  alpe  (gud-mes)  i,  26.— (HW  75^) 

elippu  (Syr.  J^fJ^K)  fern,  ship:  written  gis-ma  18,  6.  11.  r. 
1.— (HW  75^) 

ultu  (ul-tu). — (1)  OiB^2iQ,Q,  from,  away  from,  out  of  1^  9.  11  ; 
2,  46  ;  3,  5  ;  ultu  .  .  .  adi  from  ...  ^o  2,  49  ;  3,  r.  18-19.— (2) 
Of  time,  ultu  muxxi  after,  sUice  ^,21-,  4,  11;  ultu  IT.  baltu 
as  long  as  U.  loas  alive  2,  46  (cf.  note  ad  loc.) — (W  411 ;  HW 
77^) 

umu  (DV,  pfc^j)  day  (written  throughout  ud  +  phonetic  com- 
plement mu,  mi):  2,  23  ;  3,  5  ;  8,  7.  10  ;  15,  10 — PI.  time  (ud- 
MEs)  I,  4  ;  2,  3  ;  3,3;  14,  31. — ti  m  u  sa  when  2,  23;  timi 
mHsu  day  and  night  13,  r.  6;  9at  time  the  end  of  time  8,  r.  21. 
(HW  306^) 

umi  (u-ma-a)  now:  15,  r.  19  ;  16,  r.  2  ;  18,  r.  1.— (HW  82^) 

ammu  (ammti?),  pi.  ammtite,  fern,  amraate,  that  (ille): 
lippe  am-mu-te  those  dressings,  bandages  15,  r.  8  ;  dib- 
bate(?)  ammete  (am-me-te)  those  (such)  things{f)  18,  16; 
cf.  annetu,  fem.  pi.  of  annti,  HW  104^— (HW  84^) 

umma  (written  um-ma  but  properly  ti-ma,  i.  e.  demonstr. 
ti  +  ma)  namely,  as  follows,  introducing  direct  discourse  :  i,  23. 
28.  36;  2,  14- etc.— (W  208;  HW  86^) 

ummu  (DN,  II)  mother:  ummusu  (ama-su)  his  mother  2, 
8.— (HW  85^)      ^ 

emedu  ("iDi^)?  prt.  emid,  prs.  immid,  to  stand,  place. — 3 
summa  idasu  ina  libbi  ummidtini  (u-me-du-u-ni)  if  he 
has  put  his  hand  to  the  matter  14,  26  ;  the  bandages  umm  u  dti 
(u-mu-du)  are  applied  15,  r.  11. — (HW  79^) 

ummdnu  1 JDJ^)  master  workman,  skilled  artizan :  u  m  -  m  a  n  - 
ka  thy  master  workman  20,  r.  5. — (HW  86^) 

limussu  (timu)  daily:  UD-mu-us-su  4,  5.  16;  5,  4;  20,  4. 
— (HW  307=^) 

emuqu  {T^'O^^  force,  forces,  troops:  e-mu-qu  2,  16;  pi. 
emuqesu   (e-mu-ki-su)   his  forces  2,  29  ;  3,  r.  21. — (HW  88^) 

amdru  (*^DK,),  pi*t.  emur,  prs.  immar,  to  see:  ultu  mux- 
xi sa  i-mu-ru-ma  after  they  saw  3,  21.  Prec.  li-mur  12, 
.  2.— 1.  Itimur  (lum-mur)  6,  20.— (HW  89^^) 


Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature,  65 

ammaru,  cstr.  a m m a r ,  fulness^  as  much  as:  am-mar  qaq- 
qad  ubani  §ixirti  the  size  of  the  tip  of  the  little  finger  14,  22. 
— (HW  9P) 

immeru  HD^^^  sheep:  isten  immeru  (lu-nita)  a  single 
sheep  I,  38  ;  pi.  immereni  (LU-NiTA-MEs-ni)  our  sheep  i, 
29.— (HW  91^) 

amtu  (HDJ^)  female  servant,  handmaid :  amtuka  (geme?- 
ka)  thy  handmaid  19,  2.— (HW  77^) 

amdtu,  cstr.  amat  (emti  to  speak). — (1)  word,  speech:  a- 
mat  sarri  the  word  of  the  king  6,  1  ;  a-mat-ia  my  word  2, 
30. — (2)  thing  (like  *^^fj    -joj)  a -mat  sa  the  thing  which  2,  26  ; 

if  I  learn  a -mat  sa  anything  which,  etc.,  2,  60. — (HW  8P) 

immatema  (=ina  matema,  ^1D)  if  ever,  in  case  at  any 
time:  im-ma-tim-ma  (i.  e.  immatema)  4,  24. — (HW  435^) 
ana,  corresponds  in  meaning  to  Heb.  ^^  and  ^\  written  a-na 
or  Dis. — (1)  Of  space,  to,  towards:  ana  ^^Targibati  ittalkti 
they  came  to  7!  i,  21  ;  ana  ^^Suxarisungur  towards  S.  2,  13. 
— (2)  Of  time,  until :  ana  mar  mare  till  (the  time  of  our)  chil- 
dren's children  6,  40. — (3)  As  sign  of  the  dative,  sulmu  ana 
greeting  to  J,b',  9,  4  ;  10,  3,  etc.;  ana  sarri  .  .  .  liqtsti  may 
they  grant  to  the  king  3,  4;  ana  beliia  likrubti  may  they  be 
gracious  to  my  lord. — (4)  Purpose  or  object,  ana  balat  nap- 
sate  sa  sarri  U9allti  I  pray  for  the  king'^s  life  4,  6;  tabu 
ana  alaki  it  will  he  well  to  go  (literally  good  for  going)  12,  r.  4  ; 
ana  idattitu  to  hind  the  bargain  i,  25;  ana  maxlri /or  sa^e 
(price)  I,  36. — (5)  respecting,  in  regard  to:  ana  mimma  kal4- 
ma  in  regard,  to  everything  20,  r.  3. — (6)  in  conformity  with, 
ana  yibtitu  bel  sarrani  to  the  kingh  liking  2,  60. — For 
expressions  like  ana  libbi,  ana  muxxi,  ana  pan,  etc.,  see 
libbu,  muxxu,  panu,  etc. — (HW  94^) 

ina,  corresponds  in  meaning  to  Heb.  !3;  written  i-na  or  rum. — 
(I)  Of  space,  m,  at,  on,  into,  from:  ina  ^^Xa'adalu  in  X.  2^ 
15;  ina  Upi'a  at  Opis  18,  r.  7;  ina  kussl  tisibu  seated 
himself  on  the  throne  2,  6;  addan  anaku  qata'a  ina  kib- 
sati  i"  shall  lay  my  hands  upon  the  rascals  7,  r.  8;  ina  bit 
Nabti  errab  he  shall  go  into  the  temple  o/iVT  8,  r.  9  ;  ina  ku- 
tallisunu  from  their  side  2,  20.— (2)  Of  time,  in,  during :  ina 
timali  yesterday  14,  15;  15,  r.  5. — ina  arax  Sabati  in  the 
month  of  Shebat  8,  r.  16;  ina  panatu  beforehand  >] ,  20. — (3) 
State  or  condition,  ina  puluxti  in  a  state  of  panic  2,  16  ;  ina 
qasti  ramiti   with  bow  unstrung  2,  42. — (4)    Manner,    ina  14 


56-  Christopher  Johnston^  '       [1898. 

mtidantiti  in  an  unscientific  manner  15,1*.  8. — (5)  Means,  ina 
btibata  tadtika  ye  have  slaiii  with  famine  2,  55. — For  expres- 
sions like  ina  libbi,  ina  muxxi,  ina  pan,  etc.,  cf.  libbu, 
muxxu,  panu,  etc. — (H W  95^) 

inu  (W,  .vxc)  ^y^'  uzu  (i.  e.  siru)-si  i,  35;  pi.  inasu 
(si'-su)  his  eyes  8,  11  ;  cf.  birtu.— (W  348  ;  HW  49^) 

enna  (f J^5  '  '^TS^l)  now:  adi  sa  en-na  until  now  5,  r.  13. — 
(HW  103b)  ' 

annu,  fem.  annltu,  pi.  anntiti,  fem.  annati,  this  {^\q)  i 
fern,  an-ni-tu  4,  36,  pi.  an-nu-te  7,  r.  17. — (HW  lOS'') 

ennd  (Hiin)  lo!  behold! :  en-na  i,  33  ;  2,  31.  51.  56  ;  4,  21  ; 
5,  r.  7.— (HW  103^) 

andku  (^DJN)  //  a-na-ku  2,  35  ;  6,  7.  32  ;  7,  r.  8  ;  8,  13; 
16,  13;  ana(Dis)-ku  2,  35  ;  6,  23  ;  13,  r.  6.— (HW  lOP) 

annaka  here:  an-na-ka  19,  r.  3  ;  a-na-ka  7,  r.  12. — (Cf. 
PSBA.  xvii.  237) 

aninu,  anini  (1<3n-3N),  nini  (^^)  «^6-'  a-ni-ni  3,  r.  4  ;  ni- 
i-ni(?)  18,  15.— (HW   103^) 

unqu,  pi.  unqate,  ring^  signet:  un-qu  2,  32. — (HW  104^) 

annusi™  just  now,  immediately,  forthwith:  an-nu-si™  16, 
7  ;  19,  r.  3.  9.— (HW  104^) 

dsu  (properly  helper,  prt.  of  ast\  to  support;  Syr.  X^Di^)  phy- 
sician:  pi.  ase  (a-zu-mes)   16,  5. — (HW  107^). 

issi  (by-form  of  itti  with  spiration  of  H?  cf.  §43,  APR.  107, 
n.  2)  with:  i-si-ia  with  tne  7,  r.  15;  is-si-ka  with  thee  9,  r.  8 ;. 
is-si-su-nu  19,  r.  9;  i-si-su-nu  7,8.11.  15;  16,  12,  with 
them.— (RW  IW) 

as^te  reins  (pi.  of  a  noun  ast\):  mukil  asate  (su-pa- 
MEs)    the  charioteer  8,  21.— (HW  107^) 

appu  (fIN),  pi.  appe,  nose,  face:  ap-pi  14,  13  ;  15,  r.  2.  10. 
— (HW  104^) 

aplu,  cstr.  apil,  pi.  aple,  so?i:  Ummanigas  apil  (a) 
A  m  e  d  i  r  r  a  d.  son  o/*  ^.  3,  r.  1 6  ;  a  p  i  1  (a)-  s  u  s  a  the  son  of  5, 
7  ;  apil  sipri  (a-kin^)  tnessenger  i,  17.  33. — (HW  113^) 

epesu,  prt.  epus,  prs.  ippus,  ippas. — (l)  Transitive,  ^0  (io, 
make,  pe? form.  Prt.  1  pi.  nlpuslini  (ni-pu-su-u-ni)  15,  9. 
Prs.  niqH  ip-pa-as  will  offer  (make)  a  sacrifices,  r.  7;  duUu 
ippusti  are  doing  duty  7,  r.  21;  sa  tepusa  (te-pu-sa-') 
which  ye  have  done  6,  S5.  3Q.  Prec.  par9e  sa  ilani...lipu- 
sli  may  they  perform  the  commands  of  the  gods  8,  r.  13. — (2)  In- 


I 


Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  57 


im 


transitive,  to  do,  act,  be  active ;  kt  saila'uli-pu-us/e^A 
act  as  he  pleases  ^,  ^b ',  nindema  ilani...ip-pu-su-ma^y* 
the  gods  will  bestir  themselves  2,  42. — d*  same,  slxu  etepus 
(i-te-pu-us)  he  made  a  revolt  3,  r.  18;  mimma  .  .  .  bisu 
etepsti  (i-te-ip-su)  they  practiced  all  that  was  evil  ^,  14. — ^ 
Passive,  niqti  in-ni-pa-as  a  sacrifice  will  be  offered^,  19. — J 
to  carry  on:  elippu...niburu  tuppas  (tu-pa-as)  the  ship 
.  .  .  is  carrying  on  a  ferry  18,  13  ;  Iti  tuppis  (tu-pi-is)  let  it 
carry  ow  18,  r.  5  ;  uppusti  (u-pu-su)  they  are  carrying  on  18, 
r.  14.— (HW  117^) 

agii  (Ky^ ,  L05),  pi*t.  1^91,  prs.  11993,,  to  go  out,  forth.  Prt. 
1  sg.  119 a  (u-9a-')  3,6;  pi.  ti9ti  (u-9u-u)5,  9;  ti9tini  (U-9U- 
u-ni)  15,  r.  13.  Prs.  U99a  (u9-9a)  8,  16. — (d*  sam^,  pi.  itta9ti 
(i-ta-9u)  7,  r.  2  ;  N*  ittti9tini  (it-tu-9u-u-ni)  7,  17. — 0 
Causative,  Prs.  use9a  (u-se-9a-a)8,  r.  2;  pi.  use9tini  (u-se- 
9u-u-ni)  7,  r.  18.— (HW  237^) 

«tru  ("l^'N)  lyyar,  the  second  month  of  the  Babylonian  calen- 
dar :  arax  aru  (iti-gud)  8,  7. — (HW  34^) 

uru  (nl^lX)  stable:  u-ru-u  sa  ilani  the  stable  of  the  gods 
(i.  e.  the  stable  for  horses  used  in  religious  processions,  etc.)  8,  20. 
(HW  130^) 

erebu  (Dli^;  v^y£)>  P*"t.  erub,  prs.  irrub,  irrab,  to  enter: 

timusa  .  .  .  irubu  {i-vu-hvi)  the  day  he  entered  2,  '^^',  irrab 
(ir-rab)  he  loill  enter  %^  9;  irrab  (e-rab)  he  may  enter  Sj  r.  9 ; 
lirubt  (li-ru-bu)  let  them  go  in  16,  11.—^*  ina  libbi  ali 
e-tar-ba  he  came  into  the  city  11,  8. — S  Causative,  ilu  use9a 
u  ussaxxar  u-se-rab  he  will  take  the  god  forth  and  bring 
him  ill  again  8,  r.  4;  adti  .  .  .  la  userabanasina  (u-se-ra- 
b  a-  n  a  -  s  i  -  n  a)  before  toe  are  brought  in  (literally  one  brings  us  in) 
-19,  r.  7. — 0*  puluxti  ulteribu  (ul-te-ri-bu)  they  havebeen 
invaded  by  (literally  caused  to  enter)  panic,  2, 18. — (HW  126'^) 

ardu  (written  NIT  a),  pi.  ardani  (written  nita-mes,  nita- 
MEs-ni)  servant,  slave:  ardti'a  my  servant  6y  14: ;  ardAka.  thy 
servant  I,  2;  2,  1;  3,  1;  18,  2,  etc.;  ardani  servants  2,  6.  r.  3 ; 
19,  8;  ardanika  thy  servants  12,  2;  17,  2. — (HW  129^) 

arddu  (^y  for  -T")1),  prt.  trid,  prs.  urrad,  to  go  down, 
descend. — 0*^  Causative,  kaspu  ina  libbi  usserida  (u-si- 
ri-da)  wherein  he  conveyed  the  money  down  (the  river)  18,  8; 
9abe  usseridtini  (u-si-ri-du-ni)  akale  the  soldiers  took 
provisions  down  (with  them)  7,  12. — (HW  240*^) 


68  Christopher  Johnston^  [1898. 

arxu  (n*)^ ,  Eth.  warx),  cstr.  arax,  month:  arxu,  arax 
(iTi)  8,  V.  r.  16  ;  II,  6;  17,  13,  etc.— (HW  241^) 

araxsamna  (i.  e.  eighth  month)  Marcheshvan,  the  eighth 
month  of  the  Babylonian  calendar;  ^"^^^apin  5,  17.  r.  11.  22. — 
(HW  242^) 

arku,  fern,  ariktu,  ^on^  (araku)':  time  arktiti  (ar-ku-ti 
17,  8;  GiD-DA-MEs  19,  6)  a  long  life  (literally  long  days). — 
(HW  133b). 

ardku  ("I^IK),  prt.  erik,  to  he,  or  become,  long. — Infin.  a-ra- 
ku  prolongation  i,  4;  2,  3 ;  3,  3. — (HW  133^) 

arkdnis  (from  arku  rear;  H*)*,  ^J..)  afterwards,  later:  ar- 
ka-nis  5,  14.— (HW  243^). 

ersu  (t^")^)  bed,  couch:  ersu(Gis-NA)  sa  Nabti  the  couch 
of  N.  8,  8;  bit  ersi  (e-gis-na)  bed-chamber  8,  9.— (HW 
14P) 

asdbu  (D£^^  for  '2Z*\},  prt.  lisib,  prs.  us  sab,  to  sit,  dwell: 
sa  .  .  .  ina  kussi  u-si-i-bu  (pause  form)  who  seated  himself 
upon  the  throne  2,  6;  nu-us-sab  we  will  dwell  2,  15;  partic. 
asib  (a- sib)  inhabitants  (collective)  4,  25.— N*^  same,  it-tu- 
sib  (i.e.  ittdsib  =  intausib)  15,  13. — 9*  Causative,  subtu 
ussesibu  (u-si-si-bu)  he  had  laid  an  ambush  7,  21. — (HW 

isdu  ("Ili^N  ,  ni^i^)  foundation:  is-du  sabitabiia^/ie 
prop  and  stag  of  my  father's  house  6,  15. — (HW  142^) 

istu,  written  T  A. — (1)  Of  space, /rom.*  istu  Deri  issapraAe 

sends  word  from  Der  16,  18;  istu  pani  dame  ti9lini  theblood 

flows  forth  in  spite  of  (\itQV2^\J  from  before)  the  bandages  15,  r. 

12. — (2)  Of  time,  since:  istu    Samas   libbasuissuxa  since 

S.  perverted  his  understanding  6,  8. — (HW  152^) 

assatu  (Hti^K  ,    ^1)  woman,  wife:  assatsu  (dam-su)  his 

wife  2,  8.— (HW  106^) 

isten  {*'r0)?)  one,  a  single,  a  certain  (quispiam)  :  written 
i-en;  isten  mussarti  one  inscription  16,  r.  3;  isten  im- 
meru  a  single  sheep  I,  38;  isten  qallu  a  certain  servant 
5,  r.  v.— (HW  153^) 

atd  (properly  imp  v.  of  atti  to  see)  well,  now,  see! :  [uma 
a-ta]-a  now,  see  now  I  18,  r.  1. — (HW  156'') 

atta  (nr^K,  ool)  thou:  at-ta  6,  33.— (HW  160^) 

itti  (properly  genit.  of  ittu  side,  fern,  of  idu  hand)  with: 
it-ti  2,  19;  3,   25;    it-ti-su-nu    with   them   2,   25;    it-ti  XJ. 


\^\   r:'   r^  fK  f%    Y 

or  TMC 

UNIVERSITY 

Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature,  59 

usazgtisu  they  withhold  it  from  XI.  (like  Di^P)  2,  58. — (HW 
154^). — Compare   is  si. 

itu'u,  an  official  title :  ^™«Htu-'-u  7,  r.  11;  ^™«i  SanH  i-tu-' 
K.  1359,  Col.  II,  11  (PSBA,  May,  '89).— (HW  157^) 

etequ  (pili^),  prt.  etiq,  prs.  ittiq,  to  pass.  Inf.  e-te-qa 
route  (of  procession)  8,  r.  5. — (HW  159=^) 

atdru  (*)n^  =  "ini)  to  exceed,  surpass. — 1  causative,  to  in- 
crease: ut-tir  remu  askunaka  J  have  granted  thee  greater 
favor  (than  ever)  6,  24.— (HW  248^). 


bd'u  (N12),  pi't.  and  prs.  iba,  to  come:   apil  sipri  ibasu 
(i-ba-as-su)  a  messenger  has  come  to  him  i,  17. — (HW  167^) 
belbu  (Aram.  }<^^  ,  .^Li  j  reduplicated  form  from  J^l^)  gate; 

part,  portion:  babsu  (ka-su)  his  portion  2,  47;  cf.  T'^  56\ — 
(HW  165^) 

bubdtu/amme,  hunger:  bu-ba-a-ta  2,  55. — plur.  of 

bubutu  (properly  emptiness:  reduplicated  form  from  inD) 
famine,  hung er :  bu-bu-u-ti  6,  27. — (HW  166^) 

bcldu  (cf.  jj^j,4^|  ^y4>U)  sunset,  evemng{?) :  ina  timali  kt 
ba-di  yesterday  evening  14,  16;  15,  r.  5. — Cf.  the  following, 
from  Harper's  Letters  :  timu  vianaba-a-diegirtusuan- 
nitu  ina  muxxiia  issapra  he  sent  me  this  letter  the  evening 
of  the  6th  (of  the  month)  H.  lOI,  11;  ina  si'ari  sa  ba-a-di 
ri-in-ku  ina  '^^Tarbiyi  to-morrow  evening  there  will  he  a  liba- 
tion in  T.  H.  47,  7;  ina  si'ari  timu  ivana  ba-a-di  Nabti 
Tasmetu™  ina  bit  ersi  irrubii  to-morrow,  the  J/th,  at  sunset, 
NahlX  and  Tasmet  will  enter  the  hed-chamber  H.  366,  6;  sise 
ana  ba-a-di  lusaqbi  stse  lusa9bitu  1  will  stable  the 
horses  this  evening  and  assign  them  quarters  (for  lusaqbi,  cf. 
qabti  stable, pen,  HW  578*^;  for  su9butu  to  station,  place, 
cf.  HW  562^).     Cf.  Hebraica,  x.  196;  AJSL.,  xiv.  16. 

bid  (synonym  of  ki)  as,  like:  bi-id  sarru  isapar  as  the 
king  commands  (sends)  16,  16;  ultu  bid  ana  Elamti  .  .  . 
ti  9  li  since  they  went  away  to  Elam  5,  8;  ultu  bid...  nuse- 
bila  since  we  sent  5,  r.  11. — (HW  190^) 

belu  (^J^D)  lord:  belti'a  (EN-a)  4,  7.  21;  beliia  (EN-ia) 
4,  7.  33.  (be-ili-ia)  i,  1.  6,  beli  (be-ili)  my  lord ;  belika 
(EN-ka)  6,  28,  (EN-ka-a)  6,  IS  thy  lord ;  belisu  (en-su)  6, 
^\  his  lord;  beluni  (en-uI)   12,  11.  r.  2,    belini  (EN-ni)   12, 


60  Christopher  Johnston^  [1898. 

1.  6.  8  (EN-i-ni)  17,  6.  11.  r.  3,  owr  lord;  bel  (en)  sarrani 
the  lord  of  kings  i,  1.  5.— (HW  163^) 

balu  to  worship,  he  submissive:  immatema...ulibalil 
(i-ba-lu)  if  they  will  not  submit  4,  26. — (HW  173*^) 

baldtu  (tO'^O,  O'^D  properly  survive;  cf.  n^H),  prt.  iblut, 
prs.  ibalut,  once  ibalat,  to  live;  to  recover  from  illness:  iba- 
lat  (i-ba-lat)  he  will  recover  14,  31;  baltu  (bal-tu)  he  teas 
alive  2,  46;  ina  libbi  baltti  (bal-tu)  they  live  {subsist)  upon 
it  2j  45. — J[  ul  u-bal-lat-ka  I  will  not  let  thee  live  I,  41  ;  ana 
bullut  (bu-lut)  napsate/br  the  preservatioii  of  the  life  of 
8,  r.  11*.— (HW  174^) 

baldtu  (properly  infin.  of  preceding)  life:  [ba-lat]  napisti 
13,  r.  1.  2;  balat  (tin)  napsate  life,  preservation  4,  6  ;  5,6; 
20,  5;  lale  balati  (tin)  fullness,  enjoyment,  of  life  10,  10. — 
(HW  175^) 

beltu  (fern. of  belu),  pi.  beleti, /ac?y.-  belit  (nin)  Kidi- 
muri  the  lady  of  K.  10,  6.— (HW  163^) 

banu  (*JD),  prt.  ibni,  prs.  ibant,  to  make,  build,  beget: 
banti  (properly  participle)  ancestor;  mare  bantiti  {p\j- 
KAK-MEs)  free-born  citizens,  nobles  (properly  sons  of  ancestors) 
3,  16.— (HW  178^) 

banu  bright,  honorable,  excellent:  ban  (ba-an)  sa  tepusa 
the  excellent  (service)  that  ye  have  do7ie  (cstr.  before  sa)  6,  36  ; 
sa  ina  paniia  bantl  (ban-u)  10 hich  is  honorable  in  my  sight 
6,  39.— (HW  180^) 

BAR  a  measure  of  some  kind,  2,  56. 

buru  (*1NS,  113)  '^ell,  cistern:  ina  bt\ri  (pu)  ittuqut  he 
fell  into  a  well  11,  r.  1.— (HW  164^^) 

baru,  prt.  ibrt,  prs.  ibari,  to  see. — J  Causative,  la  ubarrt 
(u-bar-ri)  I  have  not  disclosed  16,  14. — (HW  182^) 

birtu  (barii)  glance,  sight:  birit  ini  clear,  plain  sight; 
ina  birit  (bi-rit)  ini  lumandid  let  him  make  it  clearly  un- 
derstood (literally  measure  out  in  plain  view)  i,  34. — (HW  183^) 

birtu  itl^^^)  fortress,  castle:  sulmu  ana  ^^birat  (bi-rat) 
greeting  to  the  fortresses  7,  5;  bir-ti-su  the  (literally  his)  for- 
tress (ZA.  ii.  321)  7,  r.  10.— (HW  185*) 

bisu  (ti^J^D)  bad,  evil:  bi-i-su  5,  13;  dibbekabtstitu 
(bi-su-u-tu)  evil  words  about  thee  (cf.  nj71  DniS'l  i  Gen. 
xxxvii.  2)  6,  6.  — (HW  165^) 

basu  (properly  ba  +  su  in  him;  cf.  Eth.  b6,  botH),  prt.  ibsi, 
prs.  ibasi,  to  be.  exist. — Prs.  sg.  i-ba-as-si  14,  22;  i-ba-as- 


Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature,  61 

s  u  -  u  -  n  i  (mod.  rel.)  8,  r.  7  ;  pi.  i  -  b  a  -  a  s  -  s  u  -  u  2,  12 ;  3,  r.  5  ; 
ibasi'u  (i-ba-si-u)  15,  r.  9.— (HW  188^) 

bitu  (JlO),  pi.  bit  ate,  written  e,  e-mes,  house  ;  with  refer- 
ence to  gods,  temple:  bit  Marduk-erba  the  house  of  M-e. 
19,  r.  6;  in  a  biti  in  the  house  of  ()^  r.  4;  rab-blti  major- 
domo  2,  52;  bit  ili  temple  16,  r.  1.  V;  ilu  mar  biti  the  god 
of  the  temple  20,  10;  bit  Nabti  the  temple  of  N.  8,  12.  r.  9; 
bitate  karani  store-houses  for  wine  17,  r.  1. — (HW  l^l**) 

bitxallu  riding  horse:  pi.  bitxallati,  ^°^«^sa  bit-xal-la- 
ti  the  cavalry  7,  r.  22  ;  cf.  Hebraica,  x.  109,  198. — (HW  190^) 

gabbu  (usually  in  genit.  g  a  b  b  i)  totality^  all,  every :  general- 
ly placed  after,  and  in  apposition  to,  the  word  qualified;  ma99a- 
rate  gab-bu  all  the  guards  10,  r.  6;  qinnasu  gab-bi  his 
%vhole  family  2y  ^  \  matsunu  gab-bi  their  whole  country ;  bel 
tabatesu  gab-bi  all  his partizans  2^  24;  sarnuppi  gab-bi 
every  sarnuppu  2,  61;  aga  gab-bi  all  these  parts,  this  country 
(literally  all  this)  2,  16.— (HW  192^) 

gamiru  (*1DJI),  prt.  igmur,  prs.  igamar,  to  complete,  to 
pay:  tapsuru  igamar-ma  (i-gam-mar-ma)  he  will  pay  a 
m/i5om  2,  40.— -(HW  199^) 

gusuru  (g  a  s  a  r  u  to  make  strong)  beam,  timber :  pi.  g  u  s  ti  r  e 
(gis-gusue-mes)  annlite  this  timber  (literally  ^Aese  Yearns j 
7,  r.  17.— (HW  20:^) 

n 

de'u  ((<*t>)  disease,  plague:  kimade'i  (di-e)  xurrurii 
they  are  ravaged  as  though  {by)  a  plague  2,  17. — (HW  297*) 

dibbu  (113*1),  pl-  dibbe,  ig or d,  speech :  dibbusu  (dib-bu- 
s  u)  his  word  20,  r.  4  ;  pi.  d  i  b  -  b  e  (d  i  b  -b  i)  aga  these  words  5,  r. 
15;  dibbe  ka'amantitu  reliable  words  i,  41;  dibbeka 
(dib-bi-ka)  btslitu  evil  words  about  thee  (cf.  btsu)  6,  5; 
dibbate(?)  ammete(?)  (dib?-ba-te  am-me-te?)  these 
things,  such  matters{?)  (cf.  1^1 ,  ^1 ,  thing)  18,  16.— (HW  209^) 

dabdbu,  prt.  idbub,  prs.  idabub,  to  speak,  converse:  is- 
sisunu  lidbubu  (lid-bu-bu)  let  him  cotiverse  with  them  16 j 
12.— ^t  g(^^y^^^  iddebub  (id-di-bu-ub)  2,  25;  cf.  dlnu.— 
(HW  208^) 


62  Christopher  Johnston,  [1898. 

dAku,  prt.  idtik,  prs.  idak,  to  kill:  suxdii-ma  ...  la  a- 
du-ku  oiot  willingly  would  I  have  slaiii  6,  16;  tadtika  (ta- 
^yji'}iL^)  ye  ham  slain  2,  23;  idtikti  (i-du-ku)  they  slew  ii,  r. 
3;  dtka  (du-u-ka)  slay  ye!  3,  10.— Infin.  daku,  ana  mux- 
xi  dakika  (GAz-ka)  ilmti  they  have  planned  thy  destruction 
6,22;  ana  daki  (gaz)  iddintika  they  have  given  thee  over 
to  death  6,  11;  ina  pani  da-a-ku  sa  axiia  in  order  to  slay 
my  brother  4,  15.—^*  same^  iddtikii  (id-du-ku)  they  slew  2^ 
17;  taddtika  (ta-ad-du-ka)  yehaveslai7i2jbQ. — (HW212^) 
diktu  slaughter,  slaying:  di-ik-ti  dtika  slay  ye!  3,  10. — 
(HW  212^) 

dikitu  (Nisbeh  form)  troop  of  soldiers  (?) :  ina  qat  di-ki-tu 
accompanied  hy  a  troop  2,  38. 

duUu  (d  a  1  a  1  u  to  serve  ;  '7'^'^  to  he  poor,  dependent)  work, 
duty,  service:  dul-lu  6,  33  ;  7,  r.  21  ;  15,  8.— (HW  219^) 

daldpu  (v«aJ<^)  to  go:  a  da  lap  (a-dal-lap)  I  will  go  d^,  22. 
— (HW  217^  below) 

ddmu  (D1)  hlood:  pi.  dame  (us-mes)  15,  r.  2.  6.  13.  17. — 
(HW  220^) 

dinu  iV"^  judgment,  cause:  di-i-ni  ittisunu  iddebub  he 
upbraided  them  (literally  plead  a  cause  with  them)  2,  25. — (HW 
215^) 

duppu  (Syr.  ^}5'^)  tablet,  letter:  duppu  (im)  Bel-upaq 
letter  of  B.-u,  20,  1.— (HW  226*) 

dupsarru  (Sumerian  dub  tablet  +  s  a  r  to  write)  scribe,  secre- 
tary :  d  u  p  s  a  r  (  a  -  b  a)  m  a  t  i  the  secretary  of  state  9,  1  ;  d  u  p  - 
sar  (a-ba)  ekalli  the  secretary  of  the  palace  19,  1.  r.  5. — 
(HW  227^)— Cf.  note  on  9,  1,  p.  47. 

dequ,  prt.  idqt,  prs.  idaqi,  to  gather,  collect:  qastasunu 
,  .  .  idqli  (id-ku-u)  they  assembled  their  forces  3,  r.  5  ;  ebtiru 
deqt  (di-e-qi)  the  harvest  is  gathered  16,  r.  10. — (HW  216% 
sub  J^4D1) 

d^ru  {JVtsbeh  of  daru,  ^*)1  to  endure),  enduring,  everlast- 
ing:  sanate   darate   never  ending  years  ly,  9. — (HW  213^) 

r 

zagu,  perhaps  ^0  5^an^. — Q  usazgtisu  (u-sa-az-gu-u-su) 
they  withhold  it  (i.  e.  cause  to  stop)  2,  59;  dinatu  attti'a... 
u-sa-az-gu-u  I  have  established  (i.  e.  caused  to  stand  firm)  my 
rights,  Behistun  (III  R.  39)  9.— (HW  260%  sub  tlpt) 


Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  63 

zilliru  (zi-il-li-ru)  an  Elamite  official  title  2,  11.— (HW 
256^) 

zimu  (Vf  I>an.  ii.  31,  v.  6;  properly,  brightness)  face,  form, 
appearance:  ztmisu  (zi-me-su)  malti  his  complete  health 
(literally /w/^/orm)  i,  14.— (HW  252^) 

zunnu  rain;  written  a-an-mes  i6,  r.  8,  where  the  plural 
sign  (MEs)has  merely  a  collective  force. — (HW  259^) 

xi'ldnu,  xiialelnu  troops:  xi-'-la-a-nu  4,  8;  xi-ia-la- 
ni-ia  my  troops  3,  22. — (HW  275^) 

xubtu  booty, prisoners  (cf.  xabatu):  xubte  (xu-ub-ti)cL 
ixtabttini  they  captured  150 prisoners  2,-,  18-19. — (HW  269^) 

xabdtu,  prt.  ixbut,  to  plunder,  take  prisoner:  impv.  pliir. 
xubtu  xubtanu  (xu-ub-ta-a-nu)  take  prisoners !{^=x\x\) - 
tani)  3,  11. — ^*  ixtabttini  (ix-tab-tu-ni)  they  captured 
3,  19.— (HW  268*^) 

xadu  ['r\Y\\l  pleasure),  prt.  ixdli,  ixdl,  to  rejoice,  be  glad. 
Stem  of  s  u  X  d  1i  q.  v. 

xazdnu  [V^T])  prefect,  superior :  i!i2i- 7. 2i-nu  sa  bit  Nabti^^e 
prefect  of  the  temple  of  JSf.  8,  12.— (HW  272^) 

xakelmu,  prs.  ixakim,  to  understand. — 0  lusaxkim  (lu- 
sax-ki-im)  I  will  give  directions,  explain  15,  r.  19. — (HW  276^) 

-x.di\q\X  fugitive,  deserter:  pi.  xalqtite  (xa-a-mes)  7,9; 
xal-qu  H.  245,  11  ;  xal-qu-te  H.  245,  5.  r.  11. 

xaldqu  (Eth.  xalqa),  prt.  ixliq,  prs.  ixaliq,  to  flee:  kt 
i  X  - 1  i  -  q  u  lohen  he  fled  I,  10;  sa  ix-li-qa  who  fled  2,  5  ;  a  d  t 
la  axaliqa  (a-xal-li-qa)  before  I  fled  2,  26.— (HW  279^) 

xamatta  (xamadda)  help,  aid:  xa-mat-ta  8,  r.  17. — 
(HW  281%  sub  X  am  at) 

xannu,  xanni'u  (=annti)  this:  lakti  sikru  xa-ni-u  this 
poor  fellow  14,  10. — The  following  additional  examples  are  taken 
from  Harper's  Letters:  xa-an-ni-i  H.  19,  r.  12;  H.  306,  10; 
H.  357,  r.  10  ;  xa-an-ni-e  H.  355,  15  ;  xa-ni-e  H.  311,  13  ; 
xa-an-ni-maH.  358,  29.  r.  17;  xa-an-nim-ma  H.  362,  r. 
1.— PI.  xa-nu-u-te  H.  121,  8  ;  xa-nu-te  H.  99,  6;  H.  121,  r. 
10;  xa-an-nu-ti  H.  306,  5.  r.  7.— (HW  284^) 

xasdsu,  prt.  ixsus,  prs.  ixasas,  to  think,  perceive,  under- 
stand: if  the  king  la  xassu  (xa-as-su)  does  not  understand 
5,  r.  24. — ^*  ktamat...ax-tas-su  when  I  learn  anything  2, 


64  Christopher  Johnston,  [1898. 

61. — jj  xussu  (xu-us-su)  he  is  well  informed  20,  r.  6. — For 
these  syncopated  forms  cf.  §  97. — (HW  284^) 

xepu,  prt.  ixpt,  prs.  ixapi,  to  destroy :  ultu  raiixxi... 
bit  abiia  ixpll  (ix-pu-u)  since  he  destroyed  my  father'' s  house 
4,  14.— (HW  286^) 

xaridu,  prs.  ixarid.— ^*  ix-te-ri-di  15,  11. — (HW  289*) 

xardgu  (r^lH)  properly  to  cut,  then  to  decide,  fix,  establish: 
xara9U  (xa-ra-9u)  sa  dibbe  aga  confirmation  of  these 
words  5,  r.  14;  tensunu  xari9  (xa-ri-i9)  he  has  accurate 
news  of  them  3,  r.  25. — (HW  292*,  sub  xari9u) 

xardru,  prs.  ixarar,  to  plow. — J[  xurrurii  (xur-ru-ru) 
they  are  ravaged  {[itevdWj  plowed  up). — (HW  292*) 

ta'dbu    (d,  p?    »jSd%   prt.   it'ib,   to   oppress  {?).—]S    nax- 

naxtitu  u-ta-u-bu  they  oppress,  interfere  xoith,  the  breathing 
15,  r.  12.— (HW  722%  sub  {w"]?nN"T) 

telbu  ((^Lb,  v^^lzj)?  prt.  ittb,  prs.  itab,  to  be  good,  well: 
ta-a-ba  ana  alaki  the  conditions  are  favorable  for  the  journey 
(literally,  it  is  good  for  going)  12,  r.  3.  4.  5.  7  ;  libbaka  .  .  .  lli- 
ta-a-ba  may  thy  heart  be  of  good  cheer  i^,x.  ^',  Iti-ta-ab-ka  6, 
3  ;  libbu  sa  sarri  .  .  .  I1I  ta-a-ba  14,  30;  111  dug-ga  16,  r. 
12;  libbu  sa  mtir  sarri  ...  1^  tabsu  (dug-ga-su)  lO,  r. 
8._(HW  299^) 

tubu  (DID)  good,  welfare:  ttib(i)  libbi  u  ttib  (i)  siri(e) 
health  of  mind  and  body  (tu-ub)  i,  4.  5;  10,  8.  9;  19,  6.  7; 
(DUG-ub)  14,  6;  15,  5.  6;  (tu-bi)  2,2;  3,  2.  3.— (HW  300^ 
reads  tub  and  explains  as  cstr.  of  tubbu  infin.  S  of  tabu) 

t^btu,  pi.  tabate,  benefit,  kindness:  tabate  (mtjn-xi-a) 
favors  6,  39;  bel  tabate  (en  mun-xi-a-mes)  partizans, 
friends  2,  12.  24.  47.— (HW  301*) 

tebetu,  Tebeth,  the  tenth  month  of  the  Babylonian  calendar  ; 
written  iti-ab  17,  13.— (HW  298*^) 

temu  (D)7tO)  news,  information:  te-e-mu  I,  24;  2,  4  ;  3,  r. 
15;  tensunu  (te-en-su-nu)  news  about  them  3,  r.  24. — (HW 
297*.;  cf.  Guthe's  Ezra-Nehemiah,  p.  35) 


iinu    (f^N)    not:    ianti    (ia-'-nu-u,    i.  e.  ianu  4-  interrog. 
enclitic  u)  is  it  not  so?  6,  25.— (HW  49*) 


Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature,  65 

idsi  me:  sulrau  ia-a-si  it  is  well  with  (as  to)  med^  2. — (HW 
5P) 

idtumme;  elippu  si  ia-a-tu  that  ship  of  mine  i8,  6;  ia- 
a-tu  Iti  tallika  let  mine  (i.  e.  my  ship)  go  i8,  i*.  6. 

KU(?)   I,  26. 

ki  (5  ,  ^p),  written  ki-i,  ki.  —  (1)  Preposition,  as^  like,  accord- 
ing to  :  ki  adi  according  to  compact  i,  23. — (2)  Conjunction; 
(a)  when,  kt...ittalka  when  he  arrives  2,  38;  ki  i9batu 
when  he  received  2,  47;  kl  itbti  when  they  reached  3,  13;  kt 
iplaxti  having  become  afraid  3,  24;  ki  upaxxir  having  as- 
sembled 2,  24;  cf.  also  I,  9.  12;  2,  7.  9.  51.  54;  5,  12.  15.  19; 
20,  12  ; — (b)  if  ki...taltapra  if  thou  sendest  i,  36;  ki  .  .  . 
9ibti  if  he  wishes  5,  r.  14  ;  ki  .  .  .  maxru  if  it  be  agreeable 
2,  31  ;  4,  26  ;  ki  .  .  .  axtassu  if  I  learn  2,  60;  ki  sa  .  .  .  la 
xassu  if  he  does  not  understand  5,  r.  21-24; — (c)  that,  idii 
ki  they  know  that  4,  11; — (d)  as,  si?ice,  ki...karmattini 
since  it  is  bottled ; — (e)  although,  ki  use'idus  although  he  has 
applied  for  it  2,  59.  —  (3)  Adverb,  ki  sa  satra  Jm5^  as  they  (the 
letters)  were  written  5,  r.  20;  ki...ki  now...  again  (literally 
thus  .  . .  thus,  introducing  direct  discourse ;  cf.  note  ad  loc.)  2, 
14-15.— (IIW  325^) 

ka'dmdnu  (l)  Adjective,  steadfast,  reliable:  pi.  dibbe  ka'a- 
mantitu  (ka-a-a-ma-nu-tu)  reliable  words  i,  41. — (2)  Ad- 
verb, libbaka  ka-a-a-ma-ni-  Iti  taba  may  thy  heart  ever 
he  of  good  cheer  9,  r.  2.— (HW  321^) 

kibistu  (kabasu,  DDD;  properly,  trampling,  what  is  trampled 
under  foot;  cf.  sikiptu)  base  fellow,  rascal :  addan  anaku 
qata'a  ina  kibsate  (kib-sa-ti)  I  will  lay  my  hands  upon 
the  rascals  7,  r.  8. 

kddu  military  post,  garrisoni^) :  ka-a-du  3,  8.  r.  2.  12. — 
(HW  725-) 

kdlu  (^1D),  prt.  ikiil,  tohold,bear. — %  part,  mukil  (mu-kil) 
as  ate  charioteer  (literally  holder  of  the  reins)  8,  21. — S*  uktil 
(uk-ti-il)   15,  12.— (HW  319b) 

kalu  (K'^D),  pi't.  iklti,  ikla,  prs.  ikalti,  to  check,  restrain. — 
55'  d  a  me  i  k  k  a  1  i '  u  (i  k  -  k  a  - 1  i  -  u)  the  hemorrhage  will  be  checked 
15,  r.  17.— (HW  328^) 

kalbu  {^^1  dog :  \2.\-h\  2,  62.— (HW  328^j 

kilile  (D^N'PD,  Eth.  kWe)  both:  rabe-qi9iria  kilale  (ki- 
la-le)  both  my  chiefs  of  battalion  7,  r.  4.— (HW  331^) 

VOL.   XIX.  5 


66  Christopher  Johnston,  [1898. 

kaldmu  (=kalu  +  nia)  totality,  all:  ana  mimraa  kala- 
mu  (ka-la-mu)  in  regard  to  anything  whatever  20,  r.  3. — (HW 
329^) 

kalimu  to  see. — Jf  to  show  lukallimlinasi  (lu-kal-li- 
mu-na-si)  let  them  show  ns  17,  r.  4. — (II W  332^) 

kima  (=  kt  +  emphatic  ma,  Heb.  1^3)  like,  as:  ki-ma 
de'i  as  (with)  a  plague  2,  IV.— (HW  326^) 

kamdsu,  prt.  ikmis,  prs.  ikamis  (properly  to  bow,  fall 
doicn),  to  settle,  dwell,  i?i  a  place  ;  to  remove  (i.  e.,  settle  else- 
where): kt  ikmisli  (ik-me-su)  when  they  had  removed,  left  2, 
9.  The  following  examples  are  taken  from  Harper's  Letters  : 
issuri  ina  bitika-ma  kam-mu-sa-ka,  if  indeed  thou  art 
dwelling  at  home  H.  97,  7-8;  ilani  ammar  inaEsaggi^ 
kam-mu-su-ni  all  the  gods  that  dwell  in  Esaggil  H.  119,  7-8  ; 
ilani  ammar  ina  biti  kam-mu-su-ni  all  the  gods  that  dwell 
in  the  templet.  120,  7-8;  istu  al  bit  abika  bid  atta  kam- 
mu-sa-ka-ni  when  you  removed  from  the  city  of  your  father'' s 
house  H.  46,  11.— (HW  336^) 

kanu,  J  to  care  for,  give  heed  to :  ilku  ana  Ezida  kunnak 
(kun-na-ak)  I  pay  heedful  reverence  to  E.  20,  9. — (HW  337^) 

kandku,  prt.  i  k  n  u  k ,  to  seal,  execute  a  contract :  ^°^^^  r  e  s  u 
iknuktini  (ik-nu-ku-u-ni)  the  officer  icho  executed  the  con- 
tract 19,  r.  8.— (HW  589%  sub  T^'^T:^) 

kunukku  seal,  sealed  document:  kunukku  (tak-sid)  ina 
(\k%\%\xxiw.  provided  with  a  loarrant  7,  8. — (HW  589^) 

kenutu  (JID)  loyalty:  kenlitka  (ki-nu-ut-ka)  thy  loyalty 
6,  23.— (HW  322^) 

kussu  (NDD)  throne:  kussi  (gis-gu-za)2,  6.— (HW  343^) 

KAS-BU  (or  KAS-GID?)  double  hour:  11  kas-bu  qaq- 
qar    tioo  double  hours  of  ground  ;^,  12. 

kis(i)limu  Ghisleu,  the  ninth  month  of  the  Babylonian  calen- 
dar:  TTI-GAN   11,6. — (HW  344^) 

kaspu  (^D^)  silver,  money :  kas-pu  15,10;  18,  7;  ana 
kas-pi  (azag-ud)  for  money  i,  27. — (HW  345^) 

kasdru,  prt.  iksir,  prs.  ikasir,  to  dam,  check,  confine. — N 
saru  ikkasir  (i-ka-si-ir)  the  air  lo ill  be  kept  away  15,  r.  16. 
— (HW  345^) 

kissutu  (=kissatu;  Aram.  J^DD  ^  ^TSOyi  fodder  (for  cat- 
tle, etc.):  ^eki-su-tu  i8,15.  r.  8;  ^eki.ig.gu-tu  ana  immer^. 
si-MEs  H.  306,  r.  12. 


Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  67 

kuru  (forkur'u;  Syr.  n*)5nj^  io  fall  ill)  distress^  trouble: 
8a  ktlri  (ku-ri)  \x\kl\x  his  eyes  are  diseased  (sa  like  .(3;  cf. 
BA.  i.  384  below)  14,  11.— (HW  352^) 

\L\vvi  grove:  kirti  (gis-sar)  sa  Asur  the  (sacred)  grove  of 
Asiir  II,  9;  k.  sa  Nabti  o/iVa5t^  8, '7.— (HW  353^) 

kardbu,  prt.  ikrub,  prs.  ikarab,  to  he  gracious  to,  bless: 
ana  sarri  likrubll  (lik-ru-bu)  7nay  they  bless,  be  gracious 
to,  the  king  4,  4  ;  5,  4  ;  11,  5  ;  12,  9  ;  13,  8  ;  18,  5  ;  19,  6  ;  lik- 
ru-bu- su  may  they  bless  him  12,  15.— (HW  350^) 

kardbu;  ul  kir-bi-ku-ma  (1  sing. permans.  like  9ixriku?) 
2,  61  ;  cf.  ul  kir-bi-ka  H.  202,  V. 

kardmu  to  bottle:  3  fem.  permans.  kar-ma-tu-u-ni  is  bot- 
tled 17,  14  ;  cf.  note  ad  loc. 

kurummatu  provisions,  food:  pi.  kurumm^tani  (suk- 
xi-A-a-ni)  2,  54.  57;  kurummatlni  (suk-xi- A-i-ni)  2,  53 
our  provisions. — (HW  354^) 

kardnu  «^me .*  written  gis-ges-tin  17,  r.  6;  bitate  ka- 
rani  (e-ges-tin-mes)  store-houses  for  wine  17,  r.  1. — (HW 
354b) 

kardru  (modern  Arabic  .S' to  purify)  to  sanctify,  consecrate: 
the  city  of  Calah  ersu  sa  Nabli  tak-kar-ra-ar  will  conse- 
crate the  couch  of  NabiX. — Cf.  the  liturgical  text  K.  164  (BA.  ii. 
635),  11.  15.  32.  47. 

kettu  (properly  feminine  of  kenu;  p3)  truth:  ki-e-tu  16, 
13.— (HW  323^) 

kutallu  (pro,  Cant.  ii.  19;  Aram.  ^r\'2  ,  Dan.  v.  5  ;  N^'^np, 
Ezr.  V.  8,  wall )  side:  i n a  k u - 1 a  1  - 1  i - s u - n u  from  their  side  2, 
20.— (HW362'*) 


Ii  (^j'?)  'not:  2,  26.  29.  Q6',  4,  16;  16,  14.  15  ;  19,  r.  7,  etc.— 
(HW  363^) 

lu  ('?,  J;  cf.  Haupt  in  JHU.  Circ,  xiii.,  No.  114,  107,  July '94). 
(1)  Asseverative  particle,  ver%,  mc^ee^.*  lil  idtl  verily  they  know 
4,  11. — (2)  Precative  particle,  lH  sulmu  ana  greeting  to  y,  S  ; 
8,  3  ;  10,  3,  etc.;  Iti  tallik  let  it  (the  ship)  come  17,  r.  3;  sar- 
ru  lli  tdt  may  the  king  know  5,  r.  27;  libbaka  Iti  tabka 
may  thy  heart  be  of  good  cheer  6,  3.— (HW  373^) 

la'u  ((<^J),  prs.  ila'i,  ile'i:  ki  sa  i-la-'u  as  he  pleases  ^, 
34;  ki  sa  a-li-'-u-'  as  I  please  H.  402,  r.  5.— (HW  364^) 


68  Christopher  Johnston,  [1898. 

libbu  C^  ,  'y^)i  written  lib-bu  (bi,  ba),  sa,  sA-bi(ba, 
bu). — (1)  heart^mind:  libbaka  Itl  tabka  may  thy  heart  be  of 
good  cheer  6y^  (ai.  tkhvi,  tlib  libbi  ttib  siri,  cf.  ttibu);  istu 
Samas  libbasu'issuxa  since  Samas perverted  his  understand- 
ing 6,  8. — (2)  middle,  midst,  and  in  this  sense  used  with  the 
prepositions  in  a,  ana;  in  a  libbi  in,  among  i,  30  ;  2,  2;  5, 
IV;  18,  7;  ina  libbi  Upi'a  at  Opis  18,  12  ;  in  a  libbi  from, 
out  of  S,  15;  inalibbibaltti  they  live  upon  it  2,  45;  ina 
libbi  in  order  that  i,  31;  ina  libbi  sa  because  6,  23;  ana 
libbi  sa  ana  until  6,  40. — (HW  367^) 

libbu  (—ina  libbi);  libbti  (sA-bu-u)  2i,gk  through,  by 
means  of,  this  (measure)  4,  24. — (HW  368^) 

labdru,  prt.  ilbur,  prs.  ilabir  to  be,  to  become,  old:  in  fin. 
labar  (la-bar)  pale  length  of  reign  2,  3;  3,  3. — (HW  370^) 

laku  weak,  miserable:  la-ku-u  14,  9. — (HW  376^) 

la.\u  fulness,  abundance:  lal-e  h a, I kti  fulness,  enjoyment  of 
life  10,  10.— (HW  377^) 

lamu ,  prt.  i  1  m i ,  to  surround,  enclose, catch :  kt  il-mu-u-ni 
when  they  have  caught  2,  51  ;  ana  muxxi  dakika  il-mu-u 
they  have  plotted  (tried  to  encompass)  thy  destruction  6,  22. — 
(HW  379^) 

lippu  (i,_4j  to  wind,  wrap  up)  bandage,  dressing :  pi.  lippe 
(li-ip-pi)  15,  r.  7. 

Idsu  (=la-l-isu,  \^^)  there  is  not,  there  are  not:  mussa- 
rane  la-as-su  there  are  no  i?iscriptio7is  16,  20;  9illate  la- 
as-su   there  are  no  shelters  17,  r.  1. — (HW  386^) 


0 

ma,  enclitic  particle;  draws  the  accent  to  the  ultima  of  the 
word  to  which  it  is  appended. — (1)  Emphatic  particle,  minil 
iqablini-ma  what,  indeed,  can  they  say  6,  30  ;  suxdii-ma  .  .  . 
\k  adtiku  not  willingly,  indeed,  could  I  have  slain  6,  14  ;  nin- 
dema  ilani...ippusli-ma  if  only  the  gods  will  bestir  them- 
selves 2,  42;  stitti-ma  that  {god)  indeed  (here  like  ^  in  apodosis 
of  conditional  clause)  14,  26;  beliia-ma  my  lord  5,  6;  ilaui- 
raa  the  gods  8,  r.  1  ;  emur^-ma  they  saw  3,  21. — (2)  As  con- 
junction, and;  lillika-ma  let  him  come  audi,  34;  sa  ittira- 
ma  who  returned  and  2,  6;  isemi-ma  he  will  hear  and  2,  40, 
etc.— (HW  386^  ;  387^) 


Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  69 

md  thuSy  as  follows ;  serves  (like  nmma)  to  introduce  direct 
discourse:  ma -a  7,  r.  6;  15,  r.  4;  16,  19;  19,  r.  5.  6. — (HW 
387^) 

VCidi  di6.\X  ahunda7we^ profusion:  dame  ma-'a-du  muchhlood 
(literally  blood  a  profusion)  15,  r.  6;  zunnu  ma' ad  a  (ma-'a- 
da)  much  rain  16,  r.  8.— (HW  389^) 

ma'ddu  (1ND)j  prt.  im'id,  prs.  ima'id,  to  he  much^  numer- 
ous, abundant:  permans.  ma'ada  (ma -'a- da)  it  is  abundant 
ly^  r.  7.— (HW  388^) 

MU-GA,  apparently  an  ideogram,  6,  39. 

MU-GI,  rab  mu-gi  the  chief  m.,  an  official  title,  15,  r.  3. 

madddu  (mD)>  prt.  imdud,  prs.  imandad,  to  measure. — 
3  lumandid  (lu-man-di-id)  let  him  measure  out  (cf.  birtu) 
I,  35.— (HW  393b) 

mudelnutu  science  (abstract  of  mtidanu,  a  formation  in  -an 
(§65,  No.  35)  from  mtidti  wise,  ^T) :  in  a  la  mlidantite 
(mu-da-nu-te)  unscientifically  (literally  without  science)  15, 
r.  8. 

muxxu  properly  top,  summit  (Sumerian  mux),  written  mux- 
xi,  MUX.  Usually  combined  with  the  prepositions  in  a,  ana, 
ultu. — (1)  ina  muxxi;  (a)  upon,  over:  ina  muxxi  (mux) 
naxnax^te  sa  2,^ ^\  upon,  over,  the  nostrils  15,  r.  9;  ina 
muxxi  (mux)  kadu  over  (in  command  of)  the  post  ^,  r.  2.  12  ; 
ina  muxxi  (mux)  bit  belika  ul  tasdud  thou  hast  not 
brought  (foe  and  famine)  upon  thy  lord's  house  6,  28. — (b)  against : 
mint!  iqabtini-ma  ina  muxxi  (mux)  ardu  sa  what  can 
they  say  against  a  servant  who,  etc.  6,  30. — (c)  to:  ittalktinu 
ina  mux-xi-ia  they  have  come  to  me  19,  r.  4. —  (d)  as  to,  in 
regard  to:  6,  4.  33;  12,  10  ;  15,  r.  1. — (e)  for:  soldiers  are  sent 
ina  muxxi  (mux)  xalqtite  for,  after,  deserters  7,  9 ;  ina 
mux-xi  napsate  sa  beliia  ugalla  I  pray  for  my  lord'' s  life 
13,  r.  7. — (2)  ana  muxxi;  (a)  towards,  against:  ina,  Vihhx 
ana  mux-xi-ni  taraxu9  that  you  may  feel  confidence  in 
(towards)  W5  i,  32  ;  emtiqesu  ana  mux-xi-i-ni  la  isapar 
that  he  may  not  send  his  troops  against  us  2,  29;  six  a  ana 
muxxi  (mux)  U.  a  rebellion  against  IT.  3,  r.  17. — (b)  to,  as  far 
as:  ana  muxxi  (mux)  ^^Irgidti. ..  ki  ilh A  when  they  reached 
Irgidu  3,  11.— (c)  as  to,  in  regard  to :  2,  33  ;  20,  11.— (d)  for: 
ana  muxxi  (mux)  kurummatini  for  our  provisions  (ye 
applied)  2,  53  ;  ana  muxxi  (mux)  dakika  ilmti  they  laid 
plans  for  thy  destruction  6,  21;  ana  muxxi  (mux)  abiia /or, 


70  Christopher  Johnston,  [1898. 

in  behalf  of \  my  father  20,  8. —(8)  ultu  muxxi  after,  since: 
iiltu  muxxi  (mux)  sa  emurti-ma  after  they  saw  ^y '^^ ',  ultu 
muxxi  (Mux)...ikkiru  since,  from,  the  time  that,  he  revolted 
4,  11.— (HW  398^) 

maxru  former  {Nisheh  form):  sarru  maxrti  (max-ru-u) 
the  former  king  2,  6.— (HW  403^) 

maxdru,  prt.  imxur,  prs.  imaxar,  properly  to  hein front 
(cf.  *nnD  to-morrow). — (1)  to  receive,  accept,  ki  .  .  .  maxru 
(raax-ru)  if  it  be  acceptable,  pleasing  2,  32;  4,  27;  summa 
maxir  (ma-xi-ir)  same,  15,  r.  18. — (2)  to  bring  (properly  to 
place  in  front  of):  tamaxaranl-raa  (ta-max-xa-ra-nim- 
ma)  tanamdinanasu  ye  shall  bring  and  give  us  2,  57. — (HW 
400^) 

maxim  (l^llDj  properly  something  received)  price:  ana 
maxiri  (ki-lam)  for  sale  i,  36.— (HW  404^) 

mukil,  see  kalu. 

mala  (proi[>er]j  fulness ;  accus.  of  malu^mal'u,  J^'^D » 
written  ma -la,  never  ma -la -a)  as  much,  many  as:  ma- la 
n  i  s  e  m  t\  all  that  we  may  hear  i,  24  ;  m  a  - 1  a  i  b  a  s  ti  all  of  them 
(literally  as  many  as  exist)  2,  12  ;  3,  r.  5;  ma -la  dibbusu  su- 
lum  so  far  as  (as  much  as)  his  loords  were  propitious  20,  r.  4. — 
(HW  410^) 

malu  (N'?D)  f^^h  complete:  zimisu  ma-la-a  his  perfect 
health  (literally  his  full  form)  i,  14.--(HW  41  P) 

mimma,  minma  (mln  -j-  ma)  whatever,  anything:  min-ma 
anything  1,  36;  ana  mimma  (nin)  kalama  in  regard  to 
everything  whatever  20,  r.  3;  mimma  (nin)  sa...bisu  what- 
ever was  bad  ^,  12.— (HW  418^.)     Cf.  mi-nu,  Eth.  mi. 

memeni  (for  man-man-ni)  any,  any  one:  ilanika  gum- 
ma me-me-ni  if  any  of  thy  gods  14,  24.  Cf.  the  following, 
izirtti  me-me-ni  ina  libbi  satrat  is  any  curse  written 
thereupon  H.  31,  10;  dullu  me-me-ni  any  work  H.  109,  r. 
17;  me-me-e-ni  la  is'alsu  nobody  has  asked  him  H.  49,  r. 
23;  ina  muxxi  me-me-ni  la  saltak  I  have  control  over 
nothing  (or  no  one?)  H.  84,  r.  6.— (HW  407^) 

minu  hoiof  with  sa,  indefinite;  mi-i-nu  sa  mar  sarri 
beli  isaparani  as  the  prince  may  command  %,y.\^. — (HW  406^) 

minu  what?  mi-nu-u6,  29;  mtna-ma(mi-nam-ma)  why? 
2,  22  ;  (me-nam-ma)  how?  6,  5.— (HW  417^) 

mindema  (cf.  nindema)  when,  if:  min  (man)-d  i-e-ma 
ana  sarri  beliia  iqabi  if  he  says  to  the  king  5,  r.   9. — Senn. 


Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  JEpistolary  Literature.  VI 

Bav.  40,  arkis  min-di-ma  Sin-axe-erba  aggis  eziz-ma 
afterwards  when  Sennacherib  became  violently  enraged. — (HW 
416^) 

minma,  cf.  mimma. 

ma^gartu  (na9aru,  1^^J)  guard,  watch  (both  abstract  and 
concrete):  ma99arta'a  (EN-NUN-a-a)  sa  tSL^^ursi  the  guard 
for  me  which  ye  have  kept  6,  37;  ana  ma-9ar-ti  lizzizli  let 
them  stand  guard  7,  r.  16;  sulmu  ana  ma99arate  (en- 
NTJN-MEs)  gabbu  greeting  to  all  the  guards  10,  r.  5. — (HW 
478^) 

maqdtu,  prt.  imqut,  prs.  imaqut  to  fall. — "^^  ittuqut 
(i-tu-qut,  for  intamqut,  intauqut)  he  fell  il,  r.  1. — (HW 
424^) 

Ui^vvison:  written  du;  marusu  sa  the  son  of  1,  V  ;  mar 
axati  nephew  (sister's  son)  i,  8 ;  3,  r.  1  ;  mare  axi  nephews 
(brother's  sons)  3,  15;  mar  mare  grandchildren  6,  40;  mare 
b a n ti t i  free  born  citizens  (cf .  bant\)  3,  16;  ilu  mar  biti  the 
god  of  (son  of)  the  temple  20,  10, — (HW  390^) 

margu  sick,  sick  man,  patient:  mar- 91  15,  r.  1. — (HW  426^) 

mard^u  (,j^yo)  to  he  sick,  ill:  permans.  maru9  (ma-ru-u9) 
he  is  ill  I,  13.— (HW  426^) 

marustu  (fem. of  marsu,  properly  unclean)  calamity,  evil: 
ma-ru-us-ti  2,  18.— (HW  428^) 

musu  (form  like  ktiru,  for  mus'u),  pi.  musati  (cf.  j>L,wmw>o  , 

„^j^  ,  Eth.  m^s^t),  night:  timi  mu-su  day  and  night  13,  r.  6. 
— (HW  429^) 

masd'u,  prt.  imsti',  to  rob:  kurtimatani  sa  masa'  (ma- 
sa-')  our  provisions  which  have  been  stolen  2,  57. — (HW  428^) 

masdru,  S  mussuru  to  leave,  abandon ;  to  let  go,  set  loose 
(cf.  Haupt  in  PAOS,  March  '94,  cvi)  :  matsunii  ina  kutalli- 
rsunu  mussurat  (mus-su-rat)  their  country  fell  away  (was 
let  loose)  from  their  side  2,  20. — Jf*^  to  leave,  abandon :  ^*Ma- 
dakti  undeser(un-dis-sir)  he  left  (abandoned)  Madaktu 
2,  7.— (HW  432^) 

mussaru,  musaru,  musaru  (from  Sumerian  mu  name  + 
SAR  to  write,  Assyr.  sitir  sumi)  inscription:  mus-sa-ru-u 
16,  r.  3;  pi.  mussarane  (mus-sa-ra-ni-i)  16,  19. — (HW 
42P) 

mitu  (Syr.  1^^)  land,  country:  written  kur  I,  9  ;  2,  9;  7,  6, 
-etc;  ma-a-ti  4,  30;  sar  matati  (kur-kur)  3,  4;  4,  1.  4; 
5,  1.  3,  king  of  the  world  (literally  of  the  countries). — (HW  434^) 


72  Christopher  Johnston,  [1898^ 

mdtu  (n*)D))  pi't.  imtit,  prs.  imat,  to  die:  permans.  mitu 
(ini-i-tu)  he  died  Sy  16.— -(HW  395=^) 

mutir-puti  (cf.  ptitu,  taru)  satellite:  '^"'^^GUR-Ru-pu  tu 
5,r.  25.— (HW  517^) 


niburu  ODJ^)  ferry:  ni-bu-ru  i8,  13.  r.  5.  13.— (HW  11^ 
nibiru.) 

ndgiru,  an  official  title,  probably  overseer,  superintendent: 
^^^^LiGiR  2,  10.— (HW  447^) 

nadu,  prt.  iddi,  prs.  inadi,  to  cast,  cast  down,  lay:  ana 
tar9i  axamis  na-du-u  they  are  encamped  (Vie)  opposite  each 
other  3,  r.  23. — QH*  qatsunu  ina  libbi  .  .  .  it-ta-du-u  they 
put  their  hand  upon  3,  r.  9. — (HW  448^) 

naddnu  (|n^),  prt.  iddin,iddan;  prs,  inadin,  inamdin, 
iddan,  togive,place. — Prt.  iddanakunusu  (id-dan-nak-ku- 
nu- six)  he  used  to  give  you  2,  55;  ana  daki  iddintika  (id-din- 
u - k a)  they  have  given  thee  over  to  destruction  6,  11;  pisunu  id- 
dantinu  (id-dan-nu-nu)  they  sent  a  message  (literally  gave  ut- 
terance) 3,  25;  niddintini  (ni-din-u-ni)  we  gave  15,  10. — Prs. 
addan  (a-da-an)  qata'a  1  will  lay  my  ha7ids  J ,  v.  7;  inam- 
din1i  (i-nam-di-nu)  they  give  2,  45;iddan1i  (id-dan-nu) 
they  will  give  13,  r.  5  ;  tanamdinanasu  (ta-nam-di-na-na- 
a-su)  ye  shall  give  us  2,  5S. — Prec.  luddin  (lu-ud-din)  i'^o^7^ 
give  2,  28;  liddinii  (lid-di-nu)  14,  7;  15,  7  ;  17,  10;  19,  7; 
(lid-din-nu)  10,  12  may  they  give ;  niddin  (ni-id-din)  we 
will  give  (cohortative)  4,  32. — Cl*  ittedinsunu  (it-ti-din-su- 
nu)  he  has  given,  sold,  them  i^,Y.  2',  pisu  ittedin  (it-ti-din) 
he  has  given  command  (properly  utterance)  14,  27. — (HW  450^) 

naddru,  prt.  iddur,  to  lavish:  ana  bel  tabatesu  id-dur 
he  used  to  lavish  upon  his  partizans  2,  47. — N  and  N*''  to  be 
angry,  rage. — -The  stem  may  be  compared  to  Syr.  TlJ  se  profu- 
dit,  and  so  N  and  N^"  would  properly  mean  to  overflow  ;  cf.  mali 
libbati,  libbati  imtali,  etc.— (HW  452^) 

nsizkzu  (Eth.  nazaza  to  console,  properly  to  support,  to  try  to 
raise  up,  hold  erect),  prt.  izziz,  prs.  izzaz,  to  stand:  elippu 
...ina  Bab-bitqi  ta-za-az-za  the  ship  is  (stands)  at  B-b. 
18,  10  ;  ina  pania  izzaztl  (i-za-zu)  they  are  (stand)  with 
me  7,  r.  23  ;  lizzizti  (li-zi-zu)  let  them  stand  7,  r.  16. — QH*  to 
place  one^s  self:  ittisuit-ta-si-iz-zu  (^.  e.  ittasizzll  for 
ittaziztl)    they   have   sided  with   him  3,  r.  20;    ina    muxxi 


Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  73 

amatia    tattasizza   (ta-at-ta-si-iz-za-')   ye  can  hear  wit- 
ness to  (literally  take  your  stand  upon)  my  words  2,  31.     In  these 
forms  the  s  for  z  is  merely  due  to  dissimilation. — (HW  455^) 
naxnaxtu  ala  of  nostril  (cf.  modern  Arabic  .^Js.^  to  speak 

through  the  nose,-=   ,^^^^     "^  a^):  pi.  naxnax^te  (na-ax-na- 

xi-e-te)  sa  appi  15,  r.  10.     Compare  naxiru. 

naxnaxutu  (na-ax-na-xu-tu)  breathing  it^^  v.  11. 

nixesu,  prt.  ixxis,  prs.  in  axis,  inamxis^  to  retire,  go  back, 
go:  'dusi  Elamti  kl  ix-xi-su  when  they  had  gone  to  £J lam 
5,15;  ana  Elamti  ul  ix-xi-i^  he  has  not  gone  to- Elam  ^, 
r.  14.— (HW458^) 

naxiru  (J^I^H^)  nostril:  pi  naxire  (na-xi-ri)  within  the 
nostrils  15,  r.  14.— (HW  458^) 

naxxartu  (=  namxartu,  from  maxaru  to  receive)  receipt, 
income:  na-xar-tu  17,  13. — (HW  405^,  namxurtu) 

nakru  foe,  enemy:  nakru  (^™^^kuk)  u  btibtituybe  and 
famine  6,  27.  — (HW  465=^) 

nakdru  (*)D^),  prt.  ikkir,  to  be  strange,  hostile;  to  revolt: 
ina  qat  sarri  ik-ki-ru  (mod.  rel.)  he  revolted  from  the  king 
4,  13.— (HW  4G4^) 

nimelu  (properly  result  of  labor,  ^t2)^^  Jl««c)  produce,  gain ; 
welfare:  ni-me-il-su  his  welfare  12,  r.  1. — (HW  83^^) 

nini  (  .v^)  we:  ni-i-[ni]?  18,  15  ;  cf.  anini. 

nindema  (=mind6ma,  with  assimilation  of  m  to  n)  if: 
nin-di-e-ma  .  .  .  iqabi  if  the  king  thinks  2,  ^Q ',  nin-di-e-ma 
.  .  .  ippiisli-ma  if  they  will  bestir  themselves  2,  41. 

nasdxu,  prt.  issux,  prs.  inasax,  to  pluck,  tear  out,  reynove 
with  violence :  libbasu  issuxa  (zi-xa)  took  away  his  under- 
standing 6,  8.— (HW  471^) 

nasiku  (H^DJ)  prince:  ^'"^^na-si-ku  3,  14;  pi.  nasikati 
^atneij^a-si-ka-a-ti)  authorities,  rulers  3,  19.— (HW  472^) 

napistu  (tJ^£)^,  ^^^jS)  ^<?^^A  ^i/^,  properly  breath:  pi.  nap- 
sa-a-te  8,  r.  11.  18;  zi-mes  13,  r.  7  life;  [balat]  na-pis-ti 
13,  r.  1-2;  balat  napsate  (tin  zi-mes)  4,  6 ;  5,  6  ;  20,  5 
life;  VII  napsate  (zi-mes)  sun u  they  are  seven  in  number 
(literally  seven  souls)  19,  r.  1. — (HW  476'') 

nagdru  (*)VJ,  Jaj),  prt.  i9  9ur,  prs.  ina9ar,  watch,  keep, 
protect:  2  pi.  ta99ura  (ta9-9u[r-ra])  6,  37. — Prec.  3  pi.  Ii9- 
9urii  (li-i9-9u-ru)  8,  r.  19. — Impv.  sg.  U9ri  (u9-ri)  4,  37; 
pi.  U9ra  (u9-ra)  3,  8.— (HW  477^) 


74  Christopher  Johnston^  [1898. 

niqu  (properly  ^^^a^^o?^,  naqti  to  pour  out ;  cf.  Ht'^Wp)  offer- 
ing ^  sacrifice :  written  lu-sigisse  8,  18.  r.  6. — (HW  479^) 

ndru    ("IH-D,  ^i)  river:    written   id   2,    9  ;  3,  r.  22.— (HW 

nisu,  pi.  n  i  s  e  ( tlf)^i^  ,  (u,lj)j  people :  written  u  n  ,  u  n  -  m  e  s ; 
nise  (uN-MEs)  bitini  the  people  of  our  house  2,  55;  nise 
(uN-MEs)  sa  ina  Ninua  the  people  of  Nineveh  9,  r.  5.  As 
determinative  before  gentilic  nsim.es,  passim. — (HW  483^) 

nasu  (Nb^J),  prt.  is  si,  prs.  inasi,  to  lift,  carry,  bring,  take: 
issa  (is-sa-')  5,  19.  20;  issa-ma  (is-sam-ma)  5,  r.  12  Ae 
brought ;  sa  .  .  .  is-su-u  whom  he  got  19,  r.  1  ;  resni  ni-is-si 
(cohortative)  we  will  hold  vp  our  heads  17,  r.  5. — Part,  nasi,  cstr. 
nas;  nas  sappate  (saman-lal-mes)  Jar  bearers  8,  r.  6. — N* 
ittanasti  (it- tan-na-as-su)  they  levy,  collect  2,  50. — (HW 
484^) 

naspartu  (saparu)  commaiid,  behest:  na-as-par-tu  sa 
sarri  the  king's  behest  4,  22. — (HW  683^) 


sebu  («jLuw)  seventh:  limu  sebtl  (viikam)  the  seventh  day 

II,  6.— (HW  489^) 

Seldu  pasture{?) :  sa-a-du  i,  31,  39;  see  paraku,  p.  76. 

Sixu  (for  six'u)  revolt:  si-xu  ana  muxxi  U.  a  revolt 
against  IT.  3,  r.  17.— (HW  492^) 

SSiKU  to  revolt:  sixti  (si-xu)  sunliti  they  are  in  a  state  of 
revolt  2,  22.— (HW  492^).     The  ^  intrans.  as  in  yibii. 

saxelru  ("IIID),  prt.  isxur,  to  turn  (intransitive). — S'  to  re- 
turn, bring  back :  i  1  u  .  .  .  u  s  s  a  x  x  a  r  (u  -  s  a  -  a  x  -  x  a  r ,  cf.  §  5 1 ,  2) 
he  will  bring  the  god  back  8,  r.  3.— (HW  494^) 

sikiptu  (sakapu)  overthrow,  defeat ;  as  a  terra  of  reproach, 
smitten,  accursed  (d.  kibistu):  si-kip-ti  Bel  accursed  of  Bel 
2,  39;  si-kip-ti  Marduk  aga  K84(H  301),  r.  17;  si-kip- 
ti  Bel  arrat  ilani  smitten  of  Bel  accursed  of  the  gods  1^.12^0 
(SK.,  ii.  59),  14.— (HW  499-) 

sikru  (=zikru,  cf.  sikru  =  zikru  name,  command.,  etc., 
partial  assimilation  of  initial  z  to  following  k ;  placed  in  HW  sub 
^pD  and  l^f  respectively)  man:  lakti  si-ik-ru  xanni'u 
that  poor  fellow  14,  10. 

sunqu  (sanaqu  to  squeeze^  press;  Syr.  pJD  to  need)  need, 
famine:  su-un-qu  2,  19. — (HW  505^) 


Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  15 

£3 

pti  (il^j  .j),  genitive  pi,  mouth,  then  utterance,  word :  pi-i 
naxire  within  (properly  in  the  mouth  of,  i)  the  nostrils  15, 
r.  14;  pi-i-su-nu  iddanlinu  they  sent  a  message  (literally 
gave  their  utterance)  3,  24;  pi-i-su  ittedin  he  has  given  his 
command  1\,  27. — (IIW  523^.)     Cf.  panu,  panatu,  ptitu. 

paxdru,  pi't.  ipxur,  to  gather,  assemble  (intransitive): 
™^'Akkadi  ni-ip-xur-ma  we,  all  Babylonia,  will  assemble  4, 
29. — S  transitive:  bel  tabatesu  gabbi  ki  u-pax-xir 
having  assembled  all  his  adherents  2,  24;  emtiqesu  ki  u-pax- 
xir  hav ing  assembled  his  forces  3,  r.  21;  u-pax-xa-ru-ma 
they  collect  2,  44.— (HW  520^) 

paxdtu  (pexti  to  close,  shut  in)  district,  then  for  bel  paxa- 
ti  governor  (nH^J):  '^"^^en-nam,  bel  paxati  or  simply 
paxatu  5,   19;  18,  11.  r.  2  ;  19,  9.— (HW  519^) 

patdru  (^D£3))  pi't.  iptur,  prs.  ipatar,  to  break,  cleave,  loose. 
— (£i^  sirtu  ap-ta-tar  I  undid  the  bandage  14,  18. — (HW 
522^) 

paXn  regnal  year,  reign.  \2i\)kY  pale  (BAL-e)  length  of  reign 
2,  3;  3,  4.— (HW  525^) 

paldxu  (Syr.  n'?^  to  reverence,  serve),  prt.  iplax,  prs.  i pa- 
lax,  to  fear,  be  afraid:  k[i  ipj-la-xu  (sg.)  2,  7;  ki  ip-la-xu 
(pi.)  3,  24  having  become  alarmed. — (HW  525^) 

puluxtu /ear,  terror,  panic:  ina  pu-lux-ti  in  a  state  of 
panic  2,  16;  pu-lux-ti  ulteribti  they  are  invaded  by  panic 
2,  18.— (HW  526^) 

pdnu  (D^-35  J  properly  old  plural  of  p  ti). — {\)  face:  pa-ni- 
su-nu  ana  ^^S.  saknti  their  faces  turned  towards  (i.  e.,  going 
in  the  direction  of)  S.  2,  13. — (2)  front,  presence:  ina  paniia 
(si-ia)  izzazti  they  are  with  me  (stand  in  my  presence)  7,  r.  22  ; 
ina  payui  .  .  .  qibi  tell  (say  in  the  presence  of)  19,  r.  5;  ina 
pa-an  sarri  lirubll  let  them  come  into  the  hing'^s presence  16, 
10;  qaqqar  ina  pa-ni-su-nu  rtiqu  a  long  stretch  of  ground 
lay  in  front  of  them  2,^,  17;  ina  p  a  -  n  i  d  a  k  u  for  the  purpose  of 
Jcilling  /^,l^',  ki  ina  pa-ni  sarri  maxru  4,  26;  summa  pa- 
an  sarri  maxir  15,  r.  18  if  it  be  acceptable  to  (before)  the  king 
(cf.  2,  32);  ana  pa-ni-su-nu  asapar  I  to  ill  send  to  them  2, 
38;  ki...ana  pa-ni-su-nu  ittalka  when  he  reaches  them 
(comes  into  their  presence)  2,  39.— (HW  530"^) 

pdndtu  (fern.  pi.  of  ^kxi\x)  front  (of  space  and  time):  ina 
pa-na-tu  beforehand^,  20.— (HW  531^) 


Y6  Christopher  Johnston,  [1898, 

paqddu  (*Tp^),  pi't.  ipqid,  prs.  ipaqid,  to  command,  ap- 
point:  sa  .  .  .  ap-ki-du  whom  I  had  appointed  ^,  r.  3;  sulmu 
issika...lipqidli  (lip-qi-du)  may  they  ordain  prosperity 
with  thee  9,  r.  10.— (HW  534^) 

pardku,  prt.  iprik,  prs.  iparik,  to  separate,  shut  off,  lock. — 
d'  ki...isten  immeru  ana  sadu  sa  Elamti  ip-te-ir- 
ku  [constructio  praegnans)  if  a  single  sAeep  (is  separated  from 
your  flocks  and)  gets  over  to  the  Elamite  pasture{J)  i,  40. — (HW 
539^) 

pardsu,  prt.  iprus,  prs.  iparas,  to  decide  {^xo^^^xX^  to  cui) : 
ana  pa-ra-su  sa  sarnuppi  inamdinti  they  place  (the  grain) 
under  the  charge  (subject  to  the  decision)  of  the  sarnuppu  2,  44 ; 
similarly  pa-ra-su  sa  sarnuppi  2,  48. — (HW  542^) 

parap  five-sixths :  pa  rap  (kingusili)  kaspu  five-sixths  of 
a  shekel  IS,  10.— (HW  538%  parab) 

par^u  (i^li)  command,  ordinance :  pi.  parye  (pa-ar-9i)  sa 
ilani  the  commands  of  the  gods  8,  r.  10. — (HW  544^) 

pasirdti  (properly  explanation;  pasaru  to  loose,  solve; 
N*^t^£})  guarantee,  credentials:  pa-si-rat-ti  .  .  .  lusebilsu  I 
will  send  it  (the  royal  signet)  as  a  guarantee  (i.  e.,  to  give  force 
to  my  request)  2,  35;  sipirta  pa-si-rat-ti.  .  .  asapar  I  will 
send  my  (simple)  message  as  a  guarantee  (i.  e.,  my  message  will 
be  guarantee  enough  for  them)  2,  37. 

putu  (fem.  of  ^ A),  front,  entrance,  border:  muttr-plitu 
^amei  gxjr-ru  pu-tu)  Satellite,  body-guard  (properly  he  who 
stood  at  the  entrance  and  turned  back  those  approaching)  5,  r.  25. 
— (HW  517-^) 

pittu  (for  pit'u,  i^n^)  moment,  twinkling;  only  in  ad- 
verbial expressions  ina  pitti,  appittma  (=ana  pitti-ma), 
etc.:  ina  pi-it-ti  immediately  16,  r.  5.  —  (HW  553^) 


^dbu  (for  9abbu,  9ab'u;  \^^)  man,  soldier:  pi.  9abe, 
written  ertm-mes  3,  6;  ^"'^^  eeim-mes  7,  7.  12.  r.  2.  5.  9  ; 
9abeia  (^"'^^  EiiiM-MEs-ia)  my  mew  7,  r.  19. — (HW  557^) 

9ibu  (Aram,  ^y^)  to  wish,  desire:  ki...9i-bu-u  if  he  wishes 
5,  r.  15.  The  ^  in  9ibTi  is  the  intransitive  ^  as  in  9ixru  small 
=  9axir,  Arabic  ^^^^  nijs  unclean  =  m,y\  s ,  etc.  (Barth, 
§  21).— (HW  558^) 


Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  77 

gabeltu  (tODV)  where  £0  is  due  to  influence  of  y)  to  grasp, 
seize,  take:  ki  \(^-h2i.-t\xwhen  he  received  2,  47;  qatsu  ki  a9- 
ba-tu  when  I  had  taken  his  hand  (i.  e.,  taken  him  under  my  pro- 
tection) I,  12;  adi  zimisu  mala  iyabatu  (i-9ab-ba-tu)  as 
soon  as  he  regains  complete  health  i,  15;  i9abatti-ma  (i-9ab- 
ba-tu-ma),  they  will  seize  him  and  2,  ^^',  ana  muxxi  9a-ba- 
ta  (infin.)  with  reference  to  the  capture  2,  33;  sirtu  sa  ina 
libbi  9a-bit-u-ni  (permans.)  the  bandage  which  held  it  on  14, 
18. — Cl*  to  seize,  take:  i9-9ab-tu  they  seize  2,  53  ;  ade  .  .  .  19- 
9ab-tu  they  made  terms  (undertook  agreements)  3,  r.  3  ;  adan- 
nu  sa  sulum  adi  t\mi  rebi  i9-9ab-ta  he  fixed  on  [took)  the 
(literally  up  to  the)  fourth  day  as  the  propitious  occasion  20,  r.  2. 
— Q  xi'lanu  tu-sa-a9-bat-ma  (ellipsis  of  xarranu)  put 
troops  upon  the  march  4,  9. — (HW  560''^) 

^ibutu  wish,  desire :  ana  9i-bu-tu  bel  sarr.ani  in  accord- 
ance with  the  wish  of  the  lord  of  kings  2,  60. — (HW  559^) 

pxru  (for  9axiru,  9axru,  ^2Lo  =  -jL^  ?  ^^™-  9axirtu 
and  9 i  X i r t u)  little,  small :  ubani  9i-xi-ir-te  the  little  finger 
14,  23.— (HW  565^) 

5ullu  (Jc^)  to  pray:  1  sg.  u-9al-lu  4,  7;  u-9al-li  5,  7; 
20,  6;  u-9al-la  13,  r.  9  Zj9my.— (HW  567^) 

^illatu  (^Vi  JJo)  shelter,  cover:  pi.  9i-il-la-a-te  shelters 
(for  storage  of  wine)  17,  15. 

^dtu  (properly  pi.  of  9itu,  HNV  ;  ^^^  to  go  out)  exit,  end : 
ana  9a-at  time  to  the  end  of  time  8,  r.  21. — (HW  239^) 

P 

QA,  a  measure:  ana  i  qa  a -an  x  bar  a- an  ten  bar /br 
07ie  QA2,  56;iQAaklisu  one  qa  of  his  food  Z,  r.  8. 

qebu  (Aram.  i^Dp  iofixyi']),  prt.  iqbi,  prs.  iqabi  to  say, 
speak,  command. — Prt.  sa  .  .  .  aq-bu-u-nu,  whom  I  men- 
tioned 16,  7  ;  amat  sa  .  .  .  aqbakunusu  (aq-bak-ku-nu-su) 
the  word  which  I  spoke  to  you  2,  27. — Prs.  la  aqab^sunu  (a- 
qa-ba-as-su-nu)  I  do  not  tell  them  16,  15;  mindema  iqabi 
(i-qa-bi)  if  he  says  ^,x.  ^  -,  nindema  sarru  i-qab-bi  if  the 
king  thinks  (says  to  himself)  2,  36  ;  mina-ma..  .  iqab^-ma 
(i-qab-ba-am-ma)  hoio  can  he  speak  6,  6  ;  i-qab-bu-u  they 
say  2,  14;  minti  iqabtini-ma  (i-qab-bu-nim-ma)  what 
can  they  say?  6,  30. — Prec.  sarru  1  i-qab-bi  (prs.  Qal,  or 
Piel?)  let  the  king  give  orders  17,  r.  3  ;  liq-bu-u  may  they  com- 


78  Christopher  Johnston,  [1898. 

mand  i,  6;  5,  r.  21. — Imv.  fem.  qi-bi-'  say!  19,  r.  5. — (fU.* 
iq-te-bi-a  ^6  say^  15,  r.  4  ;  iqtabtinlsu  (iq-ta-bu-nis-su) 
they  said  to  him  i,  28. — (HW  577^) 

qallu  servant,  slave:  written  ^""^^  gal-la  5,  r.  7.  16. — (HW 
585^) 

qinnu  (|p)  nest,  family :  ^™ ^^  q  i  n  -  n  a  -  a  s  -  s  u  g  a  b  b  i  all  his 
family  2,  8.— (HW  588^) 

qdpu,  prt.  iqip,  prs.  iqap  to  believe,  trust,  entrust. — Prs. 
sarru  la  i-qap-su  let  not  the  king  believe  him '^,  v.  11 ',  1.  a- 
qip-pu-'  (§115)  I  believe  6,  ^2. — jj  sa  u-ka-ip-[u] -ni  who 
have  appointed,  put  in  charge  7,  r.  13.  —  (HW  583^) 

qigru  (qa9aru  to  bind)  band,  battalion:  rabe-qi9ir 
(^™^^  GAL-ki-9ir-MEs)  chiefs  of  battalion,  majors  7,  10.  r.  3. — 
(HW  591^) 

qaqqadu  (1p"lp)  head,  top,  tip:  qaqqad  (sag-du)  ubani 
§ixirti  the  tip  of  the  little  finger  14,  22. — (HW  592^) 

qarddu,  prt.  iq-ri-dan-nu  3,  r.  13. 

qargu  piece:  qar9u  akalu  (Syr.  K^^lp  '^D5<)  to  slander, 
calumniate  (properly  to  eat  the  pieces):  qar-9i-ka  ina  paniia 
ekulu  he  slandered  thee  before  me  6,  9. — (HW  597^) 

qdsu,  prt.  iqis  to  grant,  bestow:  liqisti  (li-ki-su)  may 
they  grant  2,  4  ;  3,  5.— (HW  584^) 

qastu  (nt^p),  pi-  qasati. — (1)  boro :  ina  qasti  (gis-pan) 
ramiti  with  bow  relaxed,  unstrung  2,  42  (of.  H^DI  H^ipy  Ps- 
Ixxviii.  57;  Hos.  vii.  16). — (2)  force,  troops:  qasta  (gis-pan) 
sunu  mala  ibasti  ki  idqti  having  mustered  their  entire  force 
3^  r.  4.— (HW  598^) 

qdtu,  dual,  qata,  hand:  qa-ta-a-a  (i.e.  qata'a)  my  hands 
7,  r.  8 ;  elsewhere  written  su;  sa  ina  qat  D.  ...nusebila 
which  (i.  e.  the  letters)  we  sent  by  (I^D)  Z>.  5,  r.  23  ;  ina  qat 
dikitu  accompanied  by  a  troop  2,  38;  kunukku  ina  qati- 
sunu  provided  with  a  warrant  7,  8;  qatsii  ki  a9bata  having 
taken  his  hand  (i.  e.  given  him  my  protection)  i,  12;  ina  qat 
from  I,  27  ;  2,  60.— (HW  598^) 

qatii  to  come  to  an  end, perish:  2  sg.  permans.  qatata,  ina 
libbi  sa  itti  bit  belika  qa-ta-a-ta  because  thou  woiddst 
have  perished  with  thy  lord^s  house  6,  19. — (HW  599^) 

rabu  (D")),  cstr.  rab,  great:  rab  biti  ('^'^^'gal  e)  major- 
domo  2,  52;  rab  qi9ir  (cf.  qi9ru)  chief  of  battalion,  major  7^ 
10.  r.  3  ;  rab  MU-Gi  15,  r.  3.— (HW  609-^) 


Vol.  xix.J  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  79 

rubu  (cf.  rabti)  magnate^  noble :  rubesu  (^""^^  g  al-mes-su) 
his  nobles  2,  40.— (HW  610^) 

rebu  («jlJ  fourth:    tirau   rebti   (iv-kam)    the  fourth  day 

(of  the  month)  8,  10  ;   I2,  r.  6;  20,  r.  2.— (HW  608^) 

rixu  remaining,  the  rest  of:  pi.  rtxtite  (ri-xu-te)  the  rest 
(of  the  inscriptions,  mussarani)  i6,  r.  5. — (HW  618^) 

raxdgu  (ll^ninn,  Dan.  iii.  28),  prt.  irxu9,  prs.  iraxu9, 
to  trust,  to  have  confidence  in:  ina  libbi  ana  muxxini  ta- 
ra-ax-xu-u9  in  order  that  you  may  have  confidence  in  us  i,  32. 
— (HW  Q\1^) 

rixtu  (stem  .  .  ?)  pi.  rixati  and  rixeti,  salutation,  greet- 
ing: ri-xa-a-te  sa  Nabti  greetings  from  NablXio,  v.  \. — (HW 
616^) 

rakdsu  (DD*1,  m^^'  P^^'  ^^^"^j  to  bind. — S*  tal'itu  ina 
muxxi  urtakkis  (ur-ta-ki-is)  1  had  applied  (bound  on)  a 
dressing  14,  13.— (HW  620^) 

relmu  (DPI*!,  iv^O?  P^**  ii*am,  irem,  prs.  iram  to  love: 
ardu  sa  bit  belisu  i-ram-mu  a  servant  who  loves  his  lor d^s 
house  6,  31  ; — prt.  ra'imu  (ra-'-i-mu)  loving  2,  62. — (HW 
603^) 

remu  (for  rahmu)  grace,  favor,  mercy :  remu  (ri-mu)  as- 
kunaka  I  have  shown  thee  favor  6,  24. — (HW  604^) 

ramu  (HD^li  c^))>  P^*-  i^*i^i>  l<^  throw,  throw  down,  lay ; 
intrans.  ^0  be  slack,  relaxed. — %  subat  9abe  rammt  (ra-am- 
me,  impv.)  establish  a  military  post  i,  r.  6. — (HW  622^) 

ramu  relaxed:  ina  qasti  ramiti  (ra-mi-ti)  with  bow 
relaxed,  unstrung  (cf.  qastu)  2,  42. — (HW  623^) 

rdmdnu  (properly  highness,  Q^l)  self:  ra-man-su  himself 
2,  41.— (HW  624^) 

rdqu  (pn*!),  prt.  iriq,  to  be,  or  become,  distant ;  to  depart: 
lillikti  dullasunu  llpusti  li-ri-qu-u-ni  let  them  come, 
perform  their  duty,  and  depart  H.  386,  r.  3-5. — J  Asur 
uraqanni-ma  (u-raq-an-ni-i-ma)  Asur  withholds  me,  keeps 
me  far  from  6,  13.— (HW  605^) 

ruqu  (pin*))  distant,  remote :  qaqqar  ina  panisunu  ru- 
u  -  q  u  they  had  a  long  stretch  of  ground  before  them  3,  1 8  ; 
[time]  ru-qu-u-te  distant  days  13,  r.  3.— (HW  605^) 

resu  (^N"),  (j^?0-— (1)  head:  resni  (ri-[is]-ni)  nisst  we 
will  lift  up  our  heads  (be  all  right)  17,  r.  5.— (2)  officer:  written 
^'"^^SAG,  19,  r.  8  ;  pi.  ^"°^SAG-MEs  7,  7.  r.  1.— (HW  606^) 


80  Christopher  Johnston,  [1898. 

ratdmu  (Dn^),  prt.  irtum,  to  hind,  wrap:  ina  appisu 
ir-tu-mu  (which)  coy^rec?  (enveloped)  his  face  (nose)  14,  14. 

sa  (originally  s^,  and  properly  "accusative"  of  sti  he). — (1) 
Demonstrative  pronoon,  that  one,  those :  ^^^^  Puqiidu  sa  ina 
^^T.  the  Pukudeans  {viz,)  those  in  T.  i,  19  ;  inasii  sa  ktiri  his 
eyes  are  diseased  (those  of  disease,  like  J^  with  genit.)  14,  11  ; 

sa  bitxallati  the  cavalry  (they  of  riding  horses)  7,  r.  22. — (2) 
Relative  pronoun,  ^^Ao,  ^^^^c^,  for  all  genders,  numbers  and  cases  : 

2,  5.  23.  57.  60  ;  3,  15  ;  5,  12  ;  16,  6,  etc. — (3)  Preposition,  sign 
of  the  genitive,  of,  i,  5.  7.  8  ;  2,  4.  16.  38.  45  ;  3,  6.  13.  14  ;  10, 
r.  7 ;  II,  9.  etc.;  (as  further  development  of  this  usage)  from, 
sa  libbi  adri  ekalli  from  the  palace  enclosure  (he  will  go, 
etc.  8,  16;  dame  sa  appisu  illaktini  hlood  comes  from  his 
nose  15,  r.  2. — (4)  Conjunction,  that:  apil  sipri  ibasu  saa 
messenger  has  come  to  him  (with  the  news)  that  i,  17. — (5)  Used 
in  a  variety  of  compound  expressions;  ina  libbi  sa  because 
6,  17.  23;  adt  sa  until  ^,  r.  13;    ultu    muxxi    sa  since,  after 

3,  21  ;  4,  11-12  ;  ki  sa  as  4,  34  ;  how  5,  r.  20;  z/5,  r.  21-22. — 
(HW  630=^) 

SU. — (1)  Pers.  pronoun,  he,  fem.  si  she,  pi.  masc.  sunu, 
sun,  fem.  sina,  they;  su-u  he  5,  9.  11.  17;  6,20;  su-nu 
they  2,  37  ;  7,  r.  7.  22 ;  8,  r.  10  ;  19,  r.  1. — (2)  Demons,  pronoun, 
this,  that,  pi.  suntiti(u),  fem.  sinati,  sinatina:  elippu 
si-i  that  ship)  18,  6;  su-u  eteqa  illaka  this  is  the  route  he 
will  follow  8,  r.  4;  sixti  su-nu-tu  these  (people)  are  in  revolt  2, 
22;  su-nu-ti-ma...liqbti  let  these  {mQn)  tell  ^,  r.  I'd. — (HW 
645^) 

§e'u  grain,  corn:  se'  (se-bar)  sibsi  (cf.  sibsu)  2,  43. 
48.— (HW  63P) 

sa'dlu  ('?NCi^,  JLww)j  pj"t.  is'al,  prs.  isa'al,  to  ask,  inquire: 
a-sa-'al  I  will  make  inquiries  7,  r.  6  ;  ki  as-'-a-lu  when  I 
asked  20,  13;  1  i  s  - '  -  a  1  /e^  him  question  5,  r.  26 ;  1  i  s  - '  -  a  1  -  s  u 
let  some  one  (subject  indefinite)  question  him  3,  r.  25. — (HW 
633=^) 

Si'dru,  seru  (*)ll^)  morning,  morrow:  ina  si-a-ri  to- 
morrow 15,  r.  18. — (HW  635^) 

sabdtu  Shebat,  the  eleventh  month  of  the  Babylonian  calen- 
dar :  written   iti-as,  8,  r.  16.— (HW  638^) 


Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  81 

sibsu  tax,  2mpos^,  re/i^,  apparently  paid  in  kind:  se  sib- si 
tax-corn,  grain  levied  as  an  impost  2,  43;  se'  aga  sa  sib-si 
this  tax-corn  2  y  4S  ;  si-ib-su  eqli  the  rent  of  a  Jield  Sir. '^bn. 
167,  2  ;  753,  9.— Cf.  KB.  iv.  53  n. 

subtu  (asabu,  ^tJ^'),  cstr.  subat. — (1)  dwelling,  settlement: 
subat  (ku)  9abe  a  military  post  7,  r.  5. — (2)  ambush:  su- 
ub-tu  ina  panatu  ussesibu  he  had  laid  an  ambush  before- 
hand 7,  20.— (HW  246^  ;  AJSL.  xiv.  3) 

iadddu,  prt.  isdud,  ildud,  to  draw,  bring :  mat  Elamti 
ilduda-ma  (il-du-da-am-ma)  brought  on  E lam  {against  us) 
4,  13  ;  nakru  u  blibliti  .  .  .  .  ul  tas-du-ud  foe  and  famine 
thou  hast  not  brought  on  6,  29. — (HW  64^) 

suxdu  (from  xadti;  form  like  surbti,  susqti,  %Qb,  No. 
33b)  glad,  willing:  su-ux-du-u-ma.  .  .  .  la  not  loillingly  16, 
14. 

Satiru  (*)tOti^,  Ja^)j  prt.  istur,  prs.  isatar,  to  write :  ki 
sa  satra  (sat-ra)  how  they  (the  letters)  were  written  5,  r.  20  ; 
listurti   (lis-tu-ru)  let  them  write  16,  r.  4.  6.— (HW  651*^) 

saknu  (sakanu). — (1)  deputy,  lieutenant:  sakntitisunu 
(*™®^  sA-nu-MEs-su-nu)  their  deputies*],  v.  \^  ;  sa-ak-nu  Bel 
the  deputy,  representative,  of  Bel,  Sarg.  Cyl.  1. — (2)  governor, 
i.  e.  the  deputy  of  the  king.— (HW  659^) 

sakdnu  (pJ^,  .OCm/)?  P^**.  iskun,  prs.  isakan,  to  place, 
make,  do. — Prt.  remu  askunaka  (as-kun-ak-ka)  I  have 
shown  thee  favor  6,'^^',  xamatta  iskununi  (sA-nu-u-ni)  ^Aey 
rendered  aid  S,  r.  17  ;  la  nis-kun  we  could  not  place  16,  r.  1. — 
Prs.  i-sak-kan  2,  65;  nisakanlini  we  would  {like  to) place 
17,  r.  2. — Free,  liskunti  (lis-ku-nu)  let  them  place  15,  r.  15; 
16,  r.  7  ;  aka  ni-is-kun  where  shall  we  place  f  17,  r.  8. — Per- 
mans.,  panisunu  ana  ^^S.  saknii  (sak-nu)  with  their  faces 
turned  towards  S.  (circumstantial  clause)  2,  13-14. — N*'  itti 
sunqu  ina  matisunu  it-tas-kin  when  need  came  {was  laid) 
upon  their  land  2,  19.— (HW  657^) 

selibu  (v^Jljij,  Jlxj,  ^)?^^),fox:  written  ltjb-a  ii,  7.— 
(HW  634^)  * 

sulmu  (salamu),  cstr.  sulum,  welfare, prosperity :  usually 
written  Di-mu;  sulmu  ....  lipqidti  may  they  ordain  pros- 
perity g,  r.  4:.  7;  adannu  sa  su-lum  the  propitious  occasion 
20, Y.  1;  mala  dibbusu  su-lum  so  far  as  his  words  were  fa- 
vorable 20,  r.  5  ;  sulmu  iasi  it  is  well  with  me  6,  2;  sulmu 
adannis  all  goes  well  14,  8.  28. — Especially  frequent  in  formulas 

VOL.  XIX.  6 


82  ChristopJier  Johnston,  [1898. 

of  greeting,  sulmu,  sulmu  adannis,  ana  sarri,  etc  ,  greet- 
ing (welfare),  a  hearty  greeting  (welfare  exceedingly)  to  the  king^ 
etc.,  7,  3.  5  ;  8,  3  ;  9,  4;   12,  5  ;   13,  3  ;   14,  3,  etc.— (HW  664^) 

saldmu  (D'^^t^^  aXuw))  prt-  islim,  prs.  isalim,  to  he  v^hole, 
complete,  perfect. — J[  nasparta  sa  sarri  u-sal-lam  /  will 
fulfill  the  king^s  command  4,  23;  lu-sal-li-rau-ka  may  they 
keep  thee  whole  9,  10;  lu-sal-li-mu  lipusti  may  they  per- 
fectly perform  8,  r.  13.— (HW  663^) 

sdlsu  (oJLi*))  ordinal  number,  third:  timu  salsu  (in 
kam)  the  third  day  8,  7.— (EIW  666^) 

sumu  (Dti^,  4^i  stem  Dti^'l),  pi.  sumate  (HIDt^'),  name: 
su-mu   ili   the  name  of  the  god  i,  22. — (HW  666^) 

semu  (i^Dti^  a^^),  prt.  isml,  prs.  isemt,  to  hear :   iseml- 

ma  (i-sim-mi-e-ma)  he  will  hear  an^  2,  40;  asemis  (a- 
sim-mes)  I  will  hear  it  6,  1  \  mala  nisemli  (ni-sim-mu-u) 
as  much  as  we  may  hear  1,  24: ',  sulmti  lasmi  (la-as-me)  let 
me  he  hear  (his)  welfare  (i.  e.  how  he  does)  15,  r.  19. — ^^  tat- 
tasma'innt  (ta  (?) -tas-raa-in-ni)  ye  heard  me  2,^0.  Harper, 
following  Pinches  (IV^  52,  No.  2),  reads  the  first  character,  con- 
jecturally,  ri,  tal,  but  some  form  of  semli  is  clearly  required 
here. — 0  ul  usasmti  (u-sa-as-mu)  I  have  not  informed  [ov 
prs.?)  2,  62.— (HW  667^) 

summu  if:  sum-mu  7,  r.  V ;  sura-ma  14,  24;  15,  r.  18. 
— (HW  670^') 

sunu  they,  cf.  sii. 

sdnu  (for  sani'u,  saniiu),  ordinal  number,  second:  umu 
sdnu  (11  kam)  the  second  day  12,  r.  5. —  (HW  674^) 

sind  (D^Jt^)  two:  sin  a  (11- t  a)  aga  sanate  these  two  years 
6^26.— (HW  674^) 

sunuti  they,  those,  cf.  sH. 

supdlu  (y^'^^  (ysuJ)  lower  part:  for  ana  su-pal  saru  2, 
9,  rendered  southward,  cf.  tamti"^  saplitu  as  applied  to  the 
Persian  Gulf,  Zaba   saplitu  the  Lower  Zab,  etc.;  supal  sari 

would  be  a  construct  relation  (like  v:i;oo   J.!)?  meaning  literally 

the  lower  (i.  e.  the  southern)  wind. — (HW  681^) 

sipru  (cf.  Heb.  15D  message,  letter,  writing,  book;  *|£3D  is  an 
Assyrian  loanword,  therefore  D  for  ^)  message:  apil  sipri 
(^"^^^a-kin)  messenger  i,  17.  33;  2,  38;  4,  27;  16,  8.— (HW 
683*) 

sapdru  {Juu  ,  -iLww?  to  set  out,  journey),  prt.  ispur,  prs. 
isdpar,  to  send,  send  word,  often  with  idea  of  command  im- 


Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  83 

plied. — Prt.  is-pu-ra  4,  8;  is-[pu-ra-ni]  4,  21;  2.  tas-pur 
6,  5.  35;  1.  as-pu-ra  3,  r.  24. — Prs.  sg.  i-sap-par  2,  29; 
16,  16;  i-sap-par-an-ni  sends  to  command  me  ^^  v.  \b\  2.  ta- 
sap-par  4,10;  1.  a-sap-par  2,38;  asaparasu  (a-sap-pa- 
ras-su)  J  will  send  him  1^  10 ',  pi.  isapaMnlsu  (i-sap-pa- 
ru-nis-su)  they  will  send  him  2j  4^^S  ;  1.  nisaparaka  (ni-sap- 
pa-rak-ka)  we  will  send  to  thee  i,  25. — Prec.  lis-pu-ra  let 
him  send  orders  7,  r.  14. — Cl*  same:  issapra  (i-sap-ra)  16, 
18;  2.  tal-tap-ra  i,  31;  1.  assapra  (a-sap-ra)  16,  r.  3; 
al-tap-ra  i,  42  ;  3,  Y.  r.  14  ;  4,  33 ;  5,  r.  27  ;  assapar  sunu 
(a-sa-par-su-nu)  I  sent  them  7,  10;  assaprasunu  (a-sap- 
ra-su-nu)  I  send,  have  sent,  them  16,  9  ;  assaparasunu  (a- 
sa-par-as-su-nu)  I  sent  word  to  them   7,  r.  5. — (HW  682*) 

The  primitive  meaning  of  the  stem  sapar u  maybe  to  be  swift, 
transit,  to  dispatch;  sapparu  wild  goat  (whence  "^fjlti^)  may  be 
the  swift  one;  see  Proc.  Am.  Or.  Soc,  Oct.  '98,  p.  clxxv,  n.  4; 
Report  of  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  for  1892,  pp.  437-450. 

sipirtu  (fem.  of  sipru)  message,  letter:  sipirta  (si-pir- 
ta-a)  my  message  2,  37;  pi.  sipireti  (si-pir-e-ti)  letters 
5,   17.   19.  r.   12.  19.  22.— (HW  683^) 

sappatu,  pi.  sap  pate  (better,  perhaps,  sappatu;  cf. 
Heb.  riISp  basins,  dishes) ,  jar :  nas-sappate  (^™^^  s a m a n - 
LAL-MEs)  jar-bearers  8,  r.  6  ;  for  the  ideogram  saman  cf.  Be. 
1,  (PSBA.  Dec.  '88)  Col.  I.,  6.— (HW  68 1^) 

Selru  (li^ty,  TlTS]}^)  wind. — (1)  point  of  the  compass:  ana 
supal  sa-a-ru  southward  (cf.  supalu)  2,  19. — (2)  air:  sa- 
a-ru   ikkasir   the  air  will  be  kept  away  15,  r.  15. —  (HW  635*^) 

siru  (*nj^t5^)  pi.  sire  flesh,body:  t1ib  siri  (uzu)  welfare, 
health  of  body  I,  5;  2,  2;  tlib  stre  (uzu-mes)  3,  3  ;  10,  9; 
14,6;  15,  6;^I9,  7.-(HW6W) 

sarru  (*)tJ^),  cstr.  sar,  pi.  sarrani,  king:  written  lugal 
I,  15;  2,5.  28,  etc.; — pi.  lugal-mes  I,  1.  5;  2,  1.  3.  etc.; — 
mar  sarri  (dxj  lugal)  prince  8,  1.  3.  5.  11.  r.  12.  14.  18  ; 
10,  1.  3.  11.  r.  3.  7  ;  15,  8.— (HW  692^) 

sirtu  (properly  strip;  saratu  to  tear,  cut,  CO^tJ^,  Jo^co)  band- 
age: si-ir-tu  14,  17.— (HW  690^)  ^ 

sarku  pus:   sar-ku  14,  20.— (HW  692%  sub  p^tJ^) 

sarnuppu,  Elamite  official  title:  ^'"^^  sa-ar-nu-up-pu  2, 
45  ;  ^"^^^  sa-ar-nu-up-pi  2,  48,  51. 

sdrdte  (fem.  plural  of  s^ru  wind,  =  Windbeuteleien?)  lies, 
treason:  sipireti  aga  sa  ssi-r a- a -ti  these  treasonable  letters 
5,  r.  20  ;  sa-ra-te-e-su  (i.e.  saratesu)  la  tasema  do  not 
listen  to  his  lies  H.  301,  19.— (HW  648*) 


84  Christopher  Johnston^  [1898. 

sarrutu  (abstract  from  sarru)  royalty^  sovereignty :  sar- 
ru-ut-ka  thy  sovereignty  8,  r.  20. — (HW  693^) 

sutu  he,  that  one:  su-tu-ma  that  (god)  indeed  14,  26. — 
(HW  648^) 

sattu  (for  santu,  H-Dt^,  RjLw)  year:  pi.  sanate  (mu-an- 
NA-MEs)  5,  8;  6,  26  ;  17,  8.— (HW  673^) 

n 

tebu  (fu3  to  follow),  ^Yt.  itbi,  prs.  itabl,  it^hi,  to  march, 
go  (especially  with  hostile  intent):  ki  it-bti-u  when  they  came 
(had  marched)  3,  13;  it-[bu-u-ni]  they  marched  3,  r.  7  ;  ti- 
b^nu  teba  (ti-ba-')  make  ye  a  raid!  2^  ^' — 011*°  it-te-ni- 
ib-bu-u  they  had  come  (marched)  3,  23.— (HW  698'') 

tibnu  {\2r\,  .wAj)  straw:  written  se-in-nu  18,  15.  r.  8. — 
(HW  700^^) 

tibdnu  (tebdnu)  raid,  incursion  (tebti):  ti-ba-a-nu  teb^ 
made  ye  a  raid  3,  9. 

taziru,  an  official  title  :  ^^^^  ta-zi-ru  7,  r.  11. 

tal'itu  (stem  ^^^?)  (surgical)  dressing:  ta-al-i-tu  14,  12. 
19;   ta-al-i-te  14,  21.— (HW  366^) 

tullumm^'u,  apparently  a  term  of  reproach  ;  sunu  tul-lu- 
um-ma-'-u  they  are  .  .  .  ,  2,  37. 

timdii,  itimdli  ('^'lOHN)  yesterday:  ina  ti-ma-li  14,  15; 
15,  r.  5.— (HW  158^) 

tapsuru  (pasaru)  ransom:  tap-su-ru  igamar-ma  he 
will  pay  a  ransom  2,  40. 

tdru  (*lin  ^0  spy  out,  properly  to  go  about,  like  »L«))  prt. 
ittir,  prs.  itaru,  to  turn,  return:  sa  .  .  .  .  [i- tu-ra]-am-ma 
(i.  e.  itiira-ma)  who  returned  2,  Q',  Hmu  rebti  tarsu  (gue- 
su)  saNabtioTi  the  fourth  day  (will  taJce  place)  the  return  of 
Nah'd  8,  10. — J  Transitive,  utaraka  (u-tar-rak-ka  I  will 
return  to  thee,  requite  thee  6,  40  ;  nutera-ma  (nu-ter-ra-am- 
ma)  we  will  restore  4,  31.— (HW  701^) 

tar^U  (tara9u  to  stretch  out)  properly  direction:  ana  tar- 
9!  axamis  opposite  one  another  2^  i'-  22. — (HW  715*) 

Index  of  Proper  Names. 

E-ana  (Assyr.  Bit  same),  House  of  Heaven,  name  of  the 
temple  of  Istar  at  Erech,  4,  3  ;  5,  3. 

Uba'dnat  (*™^^XJ-ba-a-a-na-at),  a  tribe  dwelling  on  the 
western  frontier  of  Elam,  i,  30. 

Idu'a  (I-du-u-a),  servant  of  Kudurru,  5,  r.  15. 


Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  86 

Adiadi'a  (Ad-ia-di-'a),  a  noble  of  the  city  of  Irgidu  and 
father  of  Dalan,  3,  16. 

Adar  (dingir-bar  14,  5;  15,  4)  spouse  of  the  goddess 
Gula  ;  both  deities  often  invoked  by  physicians,  as  patrons  of  the 
healing  art. 

E-zida  (Assyr.  Bitu  kenu)  The  True  7em^^e,  name  of  the 
temple  of  Nabti  at  Borsippa,  20,  7. — (HW  323*) 

Akkadi,  mdt  (kfr  uri-ki)  4,  29;  5,  10,  Babylonia. — 
Cf.  Lehmann,  Samassumuktn,  i.  p.  68  ff. 

Uld'a  (id  U-la-a-a),  the  river  Ealaeus  0'?*)J^,  EvXato?),  i.  e. 
the  modern  Kerkha  (against  Delitzsch,  Paradies,  p.  329) ;  see 
Johns  Hopkins  University  Circulars,  No.  114,  p.  111^;  cf.  Part  I. 
of  this  article  (vol.  xviii.  p.  145,  n.  1). 

Elamtu,  mdt,  Elam  (0'?^^^,  *EA.v/>uxta,  'EXv/Aat?),  properly 
Highland;  written  kur  nim-ma-ki,  I,  9.37.39;  2,4.17. 
44;  3,  9.  r.  7.  15;  4,  13;  5,  9.  10.  14.  16.  r.  10.  13.— Cf.  Haupt, 
Assyr.  E-vowel,  p.  14  ff.;  Delitzsch,  Paradies,  p.  320 ff. 

Amedirra  (A-me-dir-ra),  an  Elamite,  father  of  the  rebel 
Ummanigas,  3,  r.  16. 

Ummaxalddsu,  Ummanaldas,  son  of  Attametu,  king  of  Elam 
[Um-ma-xal-da]-a-su,  2,  5;  Um-ma-xal-da-a-su,  2,  23. 
34.  35.  58;  3,  r.  17;  Um-ma-xal-da- su,  3,  r.  20. — The  name 
is  written  Um-man-al-da-si  (var.  das),  KB.  ii.  194,  112  ; 
196,  2;  Um-man-al-da-a-si,  ibid.  246,  74;  cf.  also  Xum- 
ba-xal-da-su,  ibid.  280,  31.  33. 

Umxulumd'  (Um-xu-lu-ma-'),  an  Elamite  noble,  2,  22. 
46.  54. 

Ammaladin  (Am-ma-la-din),  prince  of  lasi'an,  3,  13. 

Ummanigas; — (l)  king  of  Elam,  son  of  Urtaku;  Um-man- 
i-gas,  6,  9.  21. — (2)  son  of  Amedirra,  rebelled  against  Um- 
manaldas;  Um-man-ni-gas,  3,  r.  16. 

Ummansimas  (Um-m an- si-mas),  an  Elamite  official  (Na- 
gir),  2,  11. 

Undadu  (Un-da-du),  an  Elamite  official  (zilliru),  2,  11. 

Upfa  (U-pi-a),  Opis,  a  city  at  the  junction  of  the  Tigris 
with  the  Adhem,  18,  12.  r.  7. — Cf.  Part  I.  of  this  article  (vol. 
xviii.  p.  171). 

Iqi^a-aplu  (BA-sa-A),  (The  god)  has  bestowed  a  son,  3,  r. 
10.  23. 

Arba'il  (^^tattab-dingir),  Arbela,  properly  The  city  of 
the  four  gods,  9,  7;  10,  7;  19,  5. — (Delitzsch,  Par.  124.  256) 

Irgidu  (Ir-gi-du),  an  Elamite  city,  two  double  leagues  west 
of  Susa,  3,  11. 


86  Christopher  Johnston,  [1898. 

Arad-Ea  (nita-dingir-e-a),  Servant  of  Ea,  Assyrian 
priestly  astrologer,  13,  2. 

Arad-Nand  (NiTA-DiNGiR-Na-na-a),  Servant  of  Nand^ 
physician  of  Esarhaddon,  14,  2;  15,  2. 

Uruk  (Sumerian  unu-ki  =  Assyr.  subtu  abode),  the  city 
of  Erech  (*11J<),  in  Southern  Babylonia;  written  unu-ki  4,  3. 
5;  5,  3.  5.  13.  r.  8.  \^.—{Far.  121  ff.) 

Arapxa  (^^Arap-xa),  Arrapakhitis  ('Ap^aTraxms),  a  city  and 
district,  north  of  Assyria,  about  the  sources  of  the  Upper  Zab, 
18,  12.  r.  2.  11.— (Par.  124ff.) 

Isdi-Nabu  (giri-dingir-pa),  Nab-Cb  is  my  foundation,  2,w 
Assyrian  official,  10,  2. 

Asur  (properly  The  Beneficent,  *ltJ^K),  the  national  god  of  As- 
syria; written  DiNGiR-Asur,  11,  9;  17,  6;  Asur  (without 
dingir),  12,  13  ;  18,  4;  dingir-dug,  I,  3;  2,  2;  3,  2;  6,  12.— 
(HW  148^) 

Assur,  mdt,  Assyria  ("^^t^N);  written  KUR-Assur-Ki,  2, 
28;  3,  r.  4;  kur   dingir-dug-ki,  5,  13. 

Assuru,  Assyrian;  pi.  Assure  (dii^gir-dug-ki-mes), 
Assyrians,  6,  34. 

Asur-mukin-paleia  (Asur-mu-kln-BAL-ia)  Asur  estab- 
lishes my  reign,  son  of  Sardanapallus,  12,  10. 

IstdiV'  {beneficent,  ioYVQ.  Cl*  from  '^J^X),  the  goddess  Istar;  Is- 
tar  (dingir-nanna)  sa  Uruk,  4,5;  5,5;  Istar  (din- 
GiR-xv)  sa  Ninua,  9,6;  19,4;  Istar  (dingir-xv)  sa  Ar- 
ba'il,  9,  7;  10,  7;  19,  5. 

Istar-duri  (d  i  n  g  i  r  -  xv  -  d  u  -  r  i),  Istar  is  my  wall,  an  Assyr- 
ian official,  16,  2. 

Bdbilu,  Babylon,  properly  Q-ate  of  God;  Belit  Babili 
(ka-dingir-ra-ki),  19,  3. 

Bdbilel  (KA-DiNGiR-a-a),  17,4. — The  name  means  devoted 
to  {the  god  of )  Babylon. — Cf.  Part.  I.  of  this  article,  p.  168. 

Bdb-bitqi  (^^k a- b it- qi),  a  city  of  Babylonia.     Cf.  Part  I.  p. 

m. 

Bel  {lord,  '^i^D),  the  god  Bel;  written  dingir-en,  2,  39; 
8,  r.  16;  9,  r.  9;  10,  5;  17,  7;  19,  3;  en  (without  dingir), 
12,  13. 

Bel-ibni  (oiNGiR-EN-ib-ni),  Bel  has  begotten  {a  son),  2i,n 
Assyrian  general,  and  governor  of  the  Gulf  District,  I,  2  ;  2,  1  ; 
3,  2.— Cf.  Part  I.  p.  134. 


Vol.  xix.J  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  87 

Bel-eter  (dingir-en-sur),  Bel  has  preserved,  isLther  of 
Pir'i-Bel,  5,  1.  15. 

Bel-updq  (DiNGiR-EN-u-paq),  Bel  gives  heed,  writer  of 
No.  20,  son  of  Kuna,  20,  1. 

Bel-iqisa,  Bel  has  bestowed; — (1)  Prince  of  Gambtilu;  din- 
GiR-EN-BA-sa,  4,12. — (2)  One  of  the  writers  of  No.  17  ;  en- 
BA-sa,  17,  3. 

Balasi  (Ba-la-si-i),  Assyrian  astrologer  (BeXeo-vs),  12,  3. 

Belit  (fern.  cstr.  of  Bel),  the  goddess  Belit;  written  din- 
GiR-NiN-LiL,  10,  6;  18,  4;  dingir-nin  (Brunnow,  No. 
7336),  19,  3;  Belit  (dingir-nin)  B^bili,   19,  3. 

Bit-Na'dl^ni  (e  Na-a-a-la-ni),  name  of  a  district,  19,  9. 

:i 

Gaxal  (Ga-xal),  grandfather  of  Suma,  i,  7. 

Gula  (modification  of  gala  great),  the  goddess  Gula,  spouse 
of  Adar  q.  v.;  DiNGiR    Gu-la,   14,5;   15,5. 

Gambulu  (^'  G  a  m  -  b  u  - 1  u),  a  district  of  Southern  Babylonia, 
4,  9.  25.— (Far.  240  ff.) 

1 

Daxxi  (^"^^^Dax-xa-'),  an  Elamite  tribe,  I,  10.  11. 

Daxxadi'u'a  (^™^^  D  a  x  -  x  a  -  d  i  -  u  -  a),  an  Elamite  tribe,  2,  2 1. 

Daldn  (Da-la -a- an),  a  noble  of  Irgidu,  son  of  Adiadi'a,  3, 
15. 

Deri  (^^Di-ri),  a  city  near  the  frontier  of  Elam  and  Babylon 
16,  18.— Cf.  Part  I.  p.  165. 

Ddru-sarru,  The  king  is  eternal,  messenger  of  Nabti-usabsi ; 
Da-a-ru-LUGAL,  5,  20;  Da-ru-LUGAL,  5,  r.  23.  25. 

Dur-sarrukin  (^^bad-dis-man-gin)  Sargonsburg,  a  city 
of  Assyria,  liorth  of  Nineveh,  7,  r.  20. — Cf.  Part  I.  p.  151. 

n 

Xa'dddlu  ^^Xa-a-a-da-a-lu),  a  city  in  the  highlands  of 
Elam,  2,  15;  also  called  Xa'idalu  and  Xidalu.— (Par.  328) 

Xa'dddnu  (^^Xa-a-da-nu),  a  city  of  Elam,  3,  r.  19.— (Par. 
329) 

Xudxud  ("^""Xu-ud-xu-ud),  a  river  in  Elam,  3,  r.  18. — 
(Par.  329) 

Xuxdn  ('^"^^Xu-xa-an),  an  Elamite  tribe,  2,  14. 

Tdb-gil-Esara  (dug-ga-nun-e-sar-ra).  Good  is  the 
shelter  of  JSsdra,  governor  of  the  city  of  Assur  and  eponym  for  the 
year  714  b.  c,  18,  2.— Cf.  Part  I.  p.  171. 


88  Christopher  Johnston^  [1898. 

Idsi'an  (^™^^  la-a-si-an),  a  district  of  Elam,  3,  14. 

Kidimuri,  an  Assyrian  temple ;  Bel  it  "**belit  Ki-di-mu- 
ri,  10,  6.— (HW  318^) 

Kudurru  (sa-du),  Boundary,  governor  of  Erech,  5,  r.  16. 

Kalxu  (^^Kal-xi),  Calah  (ll'^D),  a  city  of  Assyria  lying  a 
little  south  of  Nineveh,  8,  7.  14.— (Par.  261) 

Kund  (Ku-na-a),  father  of  Bel-upaq,  20,  2. 

Laxiru  (^*La-xi-ru),  a  Babylonian  city  near  the  Elamite 
border,  3,  20.— (Par.  323) 

D 

Maddktu  {camp),  an  important  city  of  Elam  (BaSaK?;);  ^^Ma- 
dak-tu,  2,23;  ^^Ma-dak-ti,  2,  1.—{Par.  325ff.;  cf.  Haupt, 
in  Beitr.  zur  Assyr.  i.  p.  171) 

Marduk  (dingir-maradda),  Bel-Merodach,  the  national 
god  of  Babylon,  I,  3 ;  2,  2 ;  3,  2 ;  8,  5;  9,  5;  ii,  3;  12,  7;   13,  5. 

Marduk-erba  (dingir-maradda-su),  Marduk  increase^ 
19,  r.  2.  6. 

Musezib  -  Marduk  (Mu-se-zib-DiNGiR-MARADDA), 
Marduk  delivers,  nephew  of  Bel-ibni,  3,  r.  1.  6.  10. 

Nabu,  Nebo  (1D^),  the  special  deity  of  Borsippa  ;  written 
DiNGiR-AK,  8,  5.  8.  9.  10.  12.  r.  9.  16;  11,3;  13,5;  17,  7; 
19,  4;  20,  4;  dingir-pa,  9,  5.  r.  9;  lO,  5.  r.  2;  12,  7. — Cf. 
Part  I.  p.  153. 

Nabu'a  (Na-bu-u-a),  Devoted  ^0  A^a5^  (a  name  like  Mar- 
duka,  etc.),  an  Assyrian  astrologer,  11,  2. 

Nabu-axe-erba  (pingir-pa-kur-mes-su),  NabiZ  in- 
crease the  brothers,  one  of  the  writers  of  K.  565,  12,  4. 

Nabu-erba  (dingir-pa-su),  Jl^abil  increase,  an  Assyrian 
physician,  16,  5. 

Nabu-usabsi,  NabiX  has  brought  into  existence,  an  Assyrian 
official  of  Erech;  written  dingir-pa-gal-sI,  4,  2;  dingir- 
AK-GAL-si,  5,  2. 

Nabu-bel-sumdte  (dingir-ak-en-mu-mes),  NabiX  is  the 
possessor  of  names  (i.  e.  many  famous  and  honorable  titles),  the 
last  Chaldean  king  of  Bit-Iakin. — See  the  genealogical  table  be- 
low, p.  93. 


Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.  89 

Nabu-sum-iddina  (DiNGiR-PA-Mu-As),iVa5t2  has  given  a 
name. — (1)  An  Assyrian  priest,  8,  2 ;  9,  3. — (2)  An  Assyrian 
physician,  16,  4. 

Nugu'  (^™^^Nu-gu-u-'),  an  Elamite  tribe  dwelling  near  the 
Babylonian  frontier,  3,  20. 

Naddn  (Na-dan),  gift,  a  Chaldean  of  PuqMu,  i,  17.  35. 

Nand  (DiNGiR-Na-na-a),  a  Babylonian  goddess,  4,  6;  5, 
5;  20,  4. 

Ninua  (Hl-iO)?  Nineveh,  the  capital  of  Assyria;  written 
Nina-Ki,  9,  6;  19,  4;  ^'Nina,  9,  r.  6.— (Par.  260;  cf.  Beitr. 
zur  Assyr.  iii.  p.  87  ff.) 

Nin-gal  (dingir-nin-gal),  Great  Lady  (Assyr.  beltu 
rabitu),  the  spouse  of  the  moon-god  Sin,  13,  6.  9. 

Nisxur-Bel  (Nis-xur-DiNGiR-EN),  Let  ks  turn  to  Bel, 
major-domo  of  Nabti-bel-sumate,  2,  52. 

Nusku  (dingir-nusku),  the  Assyrian  lire-god,  13,  6. 

D 

Sallukke'a  (^"'^^Sal-lu-uk-ki-e-a),  an  Elamite  tribe,  2,  21. 
50. 

Sin  (dingir-xxx),  the  moon-god,  12,  13;  13,  5.  9. 

Sin-sarra-u^ur  (dingir-xxx-lugal-ses),  0  Sin,  protect 
the  ki7ig,  6,  4. 

Sin-tabni-u^ur  (DiNGER-xxx-tab-ni-sEs),  0  Sin, protect 
(what)  thou  hast  created,^  governor  of  Ur  in  Babylonia,  6,  1. 

Sard'a  («^^Sa-ra-a-a)  writer  of  No.  19.— Cf.  Part  I.  p.  173. 

PenzA  (^^Pi-en-za-a),  a  city  in  or  near  the  district  of  Tus- 
khan,  7,  9.— Cf.  Part  I.  p.  151. 

Puqudu  (llpD,  Ezek.  xxiii.  23),  a  Chaldean  tribe  dwelling  in 
Babylonia  near  the  Elamite  border;  ^°^®^  Pu-qu-du,  i,  18. — 
(Par.  240) 

Pir'i-Bel  (Pir'i-DiNGiR-EN),  Offspring  of  Bel,  son  of  Bel- 
eter,  5,  7;  cf.  note  ad  loc. 

Cabtdnu  (^^9^^"t^'^^)>  a  city  near  the  western  frontier  ot 
Elam,  3,  7.  8. 

1  This  explanation  I  owe  to  a  personal  communication  from  Dr. 
Bruno  Meissner.  I  had  rendered  the  name  differently  in  Part  I.  p.  148, 
but  Dr.  Meissner's  rendering  seems  preferable. 


90  Christopher  Johnston^ 

Rade  (^^Ra-di-e),  a  city  of  Elam,  2,  49.— (Par,  327) 
Rammdn  (dingir-im),  the  god  of  the  atmosphere  ([1D1), 
12,  14. 

V  ^  V 

Sa-Asur-dubbu,  governor  of  Tuskhan;  written  Sa-Asur- 
du-bu,  7,  2;  Sa- Asur-du-ub-bu,  H.  139,  2. — The  word 
dubbu,  which  forms  part  of  this  name,  would  seem  to  be  from 
the  stem  dababu  to  speak. 

V  ^     V 

Suxarisungur  (^^  S  u  -  x  a  -  r  i  -  s  u  -  u  n  -g  u  r)  a  city  of  Elam,  2^ 
13;  Par.  327  reads  the  final  syllable  si  instead  of  gur. 

V  V 

Sumd  (Su-ma-a),  My  name,  nephew  of  Tammaritu,  i,  6. 

Sum-iddina  (Mu-si-na),  [The  god)  has  given  a  name,  father 
of  Suma,  I,  7. 

V 

Samas,  the  sun-god  (Ji^^ti^,  /«M-*ii)5  dingir-babbar,  i,  3; 
2,  2;  3,  2;  4,  16;  12,  14;  dingir-gis-str,  6,  8. 

V  ^ 

Samas-bel-ugur  (dingir-babbar-en-kur),  0  Samas 
protect  {my)  lord,  Eponym  for  the  year  710  b.  c,  16,  17. — Cf. 
Part  I.  p.  165. 

Supri'd  (°^^*Sup-ri-a-a),  the  Suprian,  7,  14.  19.— Cf.  Part 
I.  p.  151. 

Susan  (^^Su-sa-an),  Susa  (W\^),  the  capital  of  Elam,  3,  13. 
—{Far.  326) 

n 

Til  .  .  .  ,  a  city  on  the  frontier  of  Elam  and  Babylonia,  i,  19. 

Talax  (T  a -la-ax),  a  city  of  Elam,  2,  10.  49.— (Par.  327) 

Tammaritu  (Tam-ma-ri-ti),  king  of  Elam,  i,  8. — See 
genealogical  table,  p.  92) 

Tdmti'",  mdt  (properly  the  sea  country;  cf.  JJuoLa-i,  the 
name  of  a  sandy  stretch  of  coast  along  the  Red  Sea),  the  Gulf 
District,  i.  e.  the  district  lying  about  the  shore  of  the  Persian 
Gulf;  mat  Tam-tim,  3,  5. — Cf.  Haupt,  in  Hebraica,  i.  p.  220, 
n.  4. 

Targibdti  (^^Tar-gi-ba-a-ti),  an  Elamite  city  near  the 
Babylonian  frontier,  i,  21. 

Tasmetu™  {intelligence,  properly  hearing),  a  Babylonian  god- 
dess, spouse  of  Nabti ;  DiNGiR-Tas-me-tum,  19,4. 


M-a 


O 

o 

w 

H 


2  ,  .      Is  . 
©  flg        S  ©S 


■11 

(b  d 

asm 

5| 

w 

-tJ  03  oQ 

—  qjxjS 

s^«"S 

SSp, 

'O         •« 

w 

h 

p 

«>  . 

?1: 

p  © 

03  s 

>[E  o 

-^  fc- 

08  : 

c3  eS 

bCJS 

<©  I 

FS 

"3  : 

«^ 

Is 

-^  So  t,- 

<5S  a 


2i^ 
2.S 


— rr^  CO 

Is 


ag 


5  5 


d 
'3 


>m     \4 


r 


I — <e3  2o5- 


i  flS  (D 

.Sm-o 


>a2  08 


|i 


"Rat; 

ill 


>«    d  00  ^ 

3  2°;;* 

^  g  ^    .  ^ 


3       o 
6 


2  >**  e 


I«  ^  ".  55 

.  ©  ;<  fl 


J 

r-^ 

e8 

Pm 

c8 

fl 

c3 

r^ 

'TS 

g 

^ 

^ 

H 

^ 

§ 

i 

h 

§ 

h) 

Ti 

3 

1 

h 

o 

■5 

P^ 

+3 

•  I-H 

b 

H 

S 

o 

p^ 

a 

Q 

4J 

d 

o 

Q 

3 
3 


M  a 


J 


-si 


3"  a".2  fl  2 


L.a'H 


!»• 

0 

-5  oj 

5*3 

OQ 

"S«H  S 

ei 

.« 

a®a 

manal 

•a   si  S 

a 

af 

u 

a  p 

- 

<1 

"~a 

P 

0 

i§:2§i 

_t:»i5 

a   OD    fl;2 

eg  a)-2 

H'O^.S 

o>  ©  *2 

3" 

■(-> 

3^3 

00 

g3 

a 

ft 

•3 
a 

03 

cS 

g 

a 

a 

— •  rt 

a 

a 

a 

p 

p 

Bo  oj  B  a 
r^  hr  «  ^  3 

^S3      ^ 


—  03 
fin 


a^§ 

'all 
aga 

pboa 

2-  P 


or-§o2 

-     83  P<o3 

Ph  "^  o  5 

©•«  a 
&§p 

OQ  ;^ 

3fl 


-a    '2 

CO -^  03  bo 

a -2^ 
a§3§o 

E  3"^  OS 

03        © 
3      "O 


-Ofl       3 
01  _,       O 

"3  a;^*-3 

>ar®oS3 

«3S-3«='o 
IS  3      '53© 

^s§5-a 

3  03      S. 


ft  ^  "^  p,  ft 

:3  S  ^  :S  d 

-    ►  00    ^    , 

C5  oq  ^  05  flq 
M  fctj  ^  ts^  I:«i 

■a     e     00    t-     00 


eo    ©  2 

^-^^  1 

ft**  .    ^     . 

^        05  ^  S 

w  "t    .  ^    r  -' 
^  12  ftP3   ft 

r-(   f-l   iM    00     •'    <»       , 
ftftftl^lg 

•^  ._:  ._:  ^  00"  -a     . 


b{  p{  P5  I  «  I  -d 


02  3 


00" 
ft 


8> 

i7s 

sis  ft 

ftgg- 

g  dg 
?^i^ 

ft  ft  ft 


^ 


ss^ 


00     .PH     •«     -rH 


pq  k5  oq  «  B3  sq  pq 

fe^  fc<i  fcd  5  M  M  t^ 


<s 

^ 

T 

d 

■^ 

o 

cq 

M 

>> 

fe 

Sal 

o 

-iddi 
lada 
of  I 
■703. 

CO 

O 
^ 

■3*  beg 

M 

03  -^  n 

M 

^§^3 

S-O  „'t- 

!21 

3 

«^^ 

1-^ 

m 

"S 

O 

« 

w 

H 

^  3  S 
bom 

n 


■>S«3 


^51 


^'^■^  ^  fl  fl 

>aB  13  00  5  03  P 
-©O-g  ^  S  03 

«>  6c®  !^  O  a 
Sort  *"  * 


03 

& 


1^ 


-     •'    OQ     fl 

:a  :2  tH 

pqea  I  i 

.    .  oa  ^ 

^^^§ 


M      0»      _J 

>2    .  J- 

.►  ^  ®  dX 
55   o<i=i   •*    . 

.OPS'-* 


:a  5:  ^  d  :s 
-    -  «  ...    - 

ti«i  tsi  ^  -:  ui 


94  Christopher  Johnston^  [1898. 


Bibliography. 

As  the  literature  of  the  subject  is  not  extensive,  I  have  endeav- 
ored to  give  here  a  complete  bibliography  of  all  works  dealing 
especially  with  Assyrian  Letters.  It  has  not,  however,  been 
thought  necessary  to  notice  all  epistolary  texts  incidentally  pub- 
lished or  translated  in  Assyriological  publications.  For  these  see 
Part  I.  pp.  125-129,  Dr.  Berry's  paper  noticed  below,  and  Be- 
zold's  Catalogue  of  the  K.  Collection. 

Amiaud,  Arthur,  Esarhaddon  II.  Babylonian  and  Oriental 
Record,  ii.  pp.  197  ff.  Translation  of  K.1619^  with  historical 
and  philological  notes. 

Berry,  George  Ricker,  The  Letters  of  the  B^  2  Collection. 
Hebraica,  xi.  pp.  174-202. — Introduction  (174-178)  containing 
full  bibliography;  fourteen  texts  in  transliteration  (178-183). 
notes  (183-193);  glossary  (193-202),  but  without  translations. 

Delitzsch,  Friedrich,  Beitrdge  zur  Erkldrmig  der  hahy- 
lonisch-assyrischen  Brieflitteratur  (three  papers).  Beitr.  zur 
Assyr.  i.  pp.  185-248  (list  p.  327);  613-631;  ii.  pp.  19-62.— Forty 
texts  in  transliteration,  with  translations  and  explanatory  notes. 

Harper,  Robert  Francis,  Assyriari  and  Babylonian  Let- 
ters belonging  to  the  K.  Collection  of  the  British  Museum.  Yols. 
i.  (1892),  ii.  (1893),  iii.  (1896),  iv.  (1896).— Containing  in  all  435 
letters,  not  only  from  the  K.  Collection,  but  also  from  the  other 
Collections  of  the  British  Museum. 

.     The  Letters  from  the   B^  2    Collection.     Zeits.    ftir 

Assyr.,  viii.  pp.  341-359. — The  Assyrian  texts  of  fourteen  letters. 

Assyriological  JVotes.      I.  Hebraica,  x.  pp.   196-201; 

II.  Am.  Journ.  Sem.  Lang.,  xiii.  pp.  209-212;  III.  Ibid.,  xiv.  pp. 
1-16. — These  articles  contain  chiefly  lexicographical  material 
derived  from  the  Letters. 

Johns,  Rev.  C.  H.  W.,  Sennacherib's  Letters  to  his  father 
Sargon.  Proc.  Soc.  Bib.  Arch.,  xvii.  pp.  220-239. — Translitera- 
tion and  translation  of  K.  181,  K.  5464,  K.  125,  with  notes  ;  text 
ofE'^^IL  14. 

Johnston,  Christopher,  Two  Assyrian  Letters.  Jour.  Am. 
Or.  Soc,  XV.  (1892),  pp.  311-316. — K.  84  and  K.  828  in  translitera- 
tion, with  translations  and  notes. 

Note  on  K.  8Jf.     Johns  Hopkins  University  Circulars, 

xii.  No.  106  (June  1893),  p.  108. 


Vol.  xix.]  Assyrian  Epistolary  Literature.         '  95 

Johnston,  Christopher,  Assyrian  Medicine.  Johns  Hop- 
kins University  Circulars,  xiii.  No.  114  (June  1894),  pp.  118-119. 
Contains  translation  of  S.  1064. 

The  Epistolary  Literature  of  the  Assyrians. — Lhid.,  • 

xiii.  No.  114  (July  1894),  pp.  119  ff. 

The  Letter  of  an  Assyrian  Princess.     Ihid.,  xv.  No. 

126  (June  1896),  pp.  91  ff.— Contains  translation  of  K.  1619^ 
with  historical  introduction  and  notes. 

Lehmann,  C.  F.,  Zwei  Erlasse  Konigs  Asurhanapals.  Zeits. 
ftir  Assyr.,  ii.  (1887),  pp.  58-68. — Text,  transliteration,  and  trans- 
lation of  K.  95  and  67,  4-2,  1,  with  notes. 

Meissner,  Bruno,  Althahylonische  Briefe.  Beitr.  zur.  Assyr., 
ii.  pp.  557-572;  573-579. — Text,  transliteration,  and  translation 
of  V.  A.  Th.  809,  574,  575,  793,  with  notes. 

Pinches,  Theo.  G.,  Notes  upo7i  the  Assyrian  Report  Tab- 
lets. Trans.  Soc.  Bib.  Arch.,  vi.  (1878),  pp.  209-243.— Treats  K. 
181,  K.  528,  K.  79,  K.  14.  General  Introduction  (209-313);  sum- 
mary of  contents  of  the  four  letters  (213-219);  text,  translitera- 
tion, translation,  and  notes,  220-243. 

Assyrian  Report   Tablets.     Records  of  the  Past,  xi. 

(1878),  pp.  75-78.— Translations  of  K.  493,  K.  538,  K.  11,  K.  562. 

Transliterations  and  translations  of  89,  7-19,  25,  and 

80,  7-19,  26.  — Proc.  Soc.  Bib.  Arch.,  Nov.  1881,  pp.  12-15. 

Zioei  Assyrische  Briefe  IXbersetzt  und  erklart.     Leipzig 

(Pfeiffer),  1887.— S.  1064  and  K.  824;  cf.  S.  A.  Smith's  Keil- 
schrifttexte  Asurbanapals^  vol.  ii.,  pp.  iv.,  58-67. 

An  Assyrian  letter  anent   the  transport^  by  ship,  of 

stone  for  a  winged  bull  and  colossus.  Bab.  and  Or.  Rec,  i.  1886- 
87),  pp.  40-41 ;  43-44. — Text,  transliteration,  and  translation  of 
S.  1031,  with  notes. 

Specimens  of  Assyrian  Correspondence. — Records  of 

the  Past  (2*1  series),  ii.  (1889),  pp.  178-189.— Translations  of  S. 
1064,  K.  538,  K.  84. 

Smith,  Samuel  Alden,  Keilschrifttexte  Asurbanipals,  Leip- 
zig (Pfeiffer),  1887-89.— Vols.  ii.  (1887)  and  iii.  (1889)  contain 
text,  transliteration,  and  translation  of  thirty-five  letters,  with 
notes  by  the  author  and  additional  notes  by  Pinches,  Strassmaier, 
and  Bezold. 

Assyrian  Letters.     Proc.  Soc.  Bib.  Arch.,  ix.  pp.  240- 

256;  X.  pp.  60-72;  155-177;  305-315.  Reprinted  separately, 
under  the  same  title,  1888. — Text,  transliteration,  and  translation 
of  thirty-three  letters,  with  notes. 


96  •         Johnston,  Epistolary  Literature.  [1898. 

Talbot,  H.  Fox,  Defense  of  a  Magistrate  falsely  accused. 
Trans.  Soc.  Bib.  Arch.,  vi.  pp.  289-304. — Text,  transliteration, 
and  translation  of  K.  31,  with  brief  notes.  The  translation  is 
reproduced  in  Records  of  the  Past,  xi.  (1878),  pp.  99-104. 

List  of  Abbreviations. 

AJSL  :  American  Journal  of  the  Semitic  Languages. 
APR  :  Meissner,  Beitrdge  zum  altbabylonischen  Privatrecht. 
BA :  Beitrdge  zur  Assyriologie  und  vergleichenden    semitischen 

Sprachwissenschaft  (Delitzsch  and  Haupt). 
H  :  Harper's  Assyrian  and  Babylo7iian  Letters.     Texts  are  cited 

by  number,  not  by  page. 
HW  :  Delitzsch,  Assyrisches  Handworterhuch. 
JHU  Circ:  Johns  Hopkins  University  Circulars. 
KB :  Schrader,  Keilinschriftliche  Bihliotheh. 
PAOS :  Proceedings  of  the  American  Oriental  Society. 
PSB  A  :  Proceedings  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology. 
Par. :  Delitzsch,  Wo  lag  das  Paradies  ? 
SK. :  Winckler,  Sammlung  von  Keilschrifttexten. 
Str.  NhJc.:  Strassmaier,  Inschriften  von  Nahuchodonosor. 
Str.  Nhn. :  Strassmaier,  Lnschriften  von  Nahonidus. 
T^ :  Tallqvist,  Sprache  der  Contracte  NdbiX-ndHds. 
TSBA  :   Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology. 
W:  Delitzsch,  Assyrisches  Worterbuch. 
TaK:  Zeitschrift  filr  Assyriologie. 

Numbers  in  heavy-faced  type,  not  otherwise  qualified,  refer 
to  the  texts  treated  in  Part  I.  of  this  article.  For  example,  17,  2, 
refers  to  No.  17  (Part  I.,  p.  169),  line  2  ;  8,  r.  6  =  No.  8  (Part  I., 
p.  155),  reverse,  line  6. 

§  refers  to  the  paragraphs  in  Delitzsch's  Assyriati  Grammar. 

The  verbal  stems  are  designated  as  follows  : — QH  =  Qal,  Cl*  = 
Ifteal  =  Piel,  OH*"  =  Iftaneal,  HJH  =  Nifal,  W  =  Ittafal,  J  (Inten- 
sive), I*  =  litaal,  0  =  Shafel,  0'  =  Ishtafal. 

Other  abbreviations  used  require  no  explanation. 


VITA. 

I  was  born  in  Baltimore  on  the  8th  of  December,  1856,  the 
eldest  son  of  Dr.  Christopher  Johnston,  Professor  of  Surgery  at 
the  University  of  Maryland.  Having  received  my  preparatory 
training  in  private  schools,  I  matriculated  in  October,  1872,  at 
the  University  of  Virginia,  where,  after  having  pursued  the  full 
curriculum  of  that  institution,  I  received  the  degree  of  Master 
of  Arts  in  July,  1879.  During  the  sessions  of  1877-78  and 
1878-79  1  also  followed  medical  courses.  In  1880  I  was 
graduated  as  Doctor  of  Medicine  by  the  University  of  Maryland. 
While  practicing  medicine  in  Baltimore  from  1880  till  1888, 
I  devoted  nearly  all  my  spare  time  to  the  study  of  ancient 
and  modern  languages.  In  October,  1888,  I  entered  the  Johns 
Hopkins  University  as  a  special  student;  was  appointed,  in 
the  following  year.  Fellow  in  Semitic,  being  reappointed  in 
1890.  In  November,  1890, 1  was  appointed  Instructor  in  Semitic. 
I  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  from  the  Johns 
Hopkins  University  in  1894,  and  in  the  same  year  was  appointed 
Associate. 

While  a  student  in  the  University  I  attended  the  courses  of 
Prof.  Haupt,  Prof.  Gildersleeve,  and  Dr.  Adler.  I  desire  to  offer 
my  thanks  to  all  my  instructors,  and  especially  to  Prof.  Haupt, 
to  whose  friendly  aid  and  counsel  I  owe  iae«e^*taQ«J  can  well 
express.  /^        of  the 

UNIVERSITY 


2 426 3 « 


RETURN  TO  the  circulation  desk  ot  any 
^HS  University  of  California  Library 

TC  or  to  the 

LC      NORTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 
BIdg,  400,  Richmond  Field  Station 
University  of  California 
Richmond,  CA  94804-4698 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 

•  2-month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling 
(510)642-6753 

•  1-year  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing 
books  to  NRLF 

•  Renewals  and  recharges  may  be  made  4 
days  prior  to  due  date. 


DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


APR  14. 1997 


12,000(11/95) 


